MICHIGAN SPEECH-LANGUAGE-HEARING ASSOCIATION

COMMUNITY AND HOSPITAL SERVICES COMMITTEE

ANNUAL REPORT Submitted at 2008 Conference in Kalamazoo, MI

Beverly A. Jaynes, M.A., CCC-SLP, MSHA Vice President CHS

This committee represents Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists in settings that include Community Mental Health, Hospitals, Rehabilitation Agencies, Extended Care Facilities and Private Practice. We continue to meet 5-6 times per year in the Detroit Metropolitan Area. Highlights of 2007 are as follows:

Reimbursement

Medicare – We continue to monitor for issues that relate to supervision of students, how CFY’s can be employed, the use of SLPA’s, dysphagia and removal of the therapy cap for Medicare part B.

Medicaid: Initial contacts have been made with the Department of Community Health regarding the prior authorization process. As the State continues to experience budget problems, departmental cutbacks and our need to maintain the MDCH’s support of licensure, we have proceeded cautiously. A task force is forming to define when medical services would be more appropriately provided in a medical setting versus a school-centered setting.

Blue Cross/Blue Shield – Tim Wiese continues to report coverage issues at the CHS committee meetings. He also provides updates on Medicare and Medicaid coding and manual wording.

Convention Programming: The committee continues to review suggestions for and offer names for the annual conference.

Medical Speech Language Pathology Forum: The 2007 conference speaker was Dr. Jerry Johnson, Beaumont Associate Medical Director for Blue Cross-Blue Shield. We send heartfelt thanks to Dr. Michael Rolnick for his assistance in procuring this speaker and also providing information at the Forum. For the 2008, a panel to discuss current issues in dysphagia is planned.

Pursuit of Licensure: This committee continues to support licensure for SLP’s who do currently do not have a state regulated credential, i.e. teacher certification. We have become increasingly aware that fewer students are graduating with Teacher of the Speech and Language impaired credentials and that the State made changes in its contract for Federal funding of Medicaid. We have discussed these impacts on our licensure bill.

Clinical Service Award (CSA): No names were submitted for this year’s CSA. Once again, thanks to Karen Al Saadi, Fran Eldis, Susan Tranquilla, Carolyn Doty, Melissa Witsell, Lisa Bardach, Randy Sax and Tim Wiese for their participation in this award’s administration.

MSHA Electronic Communication and Web Page: A CHS list serve continues to allow the V-P of CHS to send out notices and forward information to interested members or related professional. CHS committee meeting notices and recent minutes are posted on the website. CHS committee meeting dates for 2008 will be posted at the MSHA web site as soon as some disputed dates are reconciled. We plan continue to meet at the home of Fran Eldis on Thursdays at 6PM. As in past years, we attempt to answer questions forwarded to us by the MSHA office via phone and e-mail contact. We continue to receive questions regarding how SLP’s can independently bill insurance providers.…the answer remains without licensure, we cannot.

The CHS’s Augmentative Communication Subcommittee remains inactive, however, an AAC specialist, Lisa Bardach, participates in the CHS committee and serves to bring issues to our attention.

The CHS committee is in support of governance changes that would reduce the size of the Executive Council. It is our hope that this will encourage more regional participation in sub-committees that are issue related and therefore more interesting to the medical community.

*Empower task force to develop white paper discussing when services for children should be authorized for a "hospital based" program vs. a school based program.

*Support and assist licensure efforts for SLP’s: expand info sent via e-mail and by direct contact as directed by our lobbyist.

*Continue to update membership on reimbursement changes and trends.

*Remind membership of CSA deadlines via e-mail in spring and early summer.

For more specific information, contact: Beverly A. Jaynes, MA, and CCC-SLP 248-334-7807 or at craig_n_bev@yahoo.com