To promote quality care and patient access to wound care products and services through effective advocacy in the regulatory, legislative and public arenas.

Chambers of Commerce & Business Leagues

Provided first comprehensive wound care study data demonstrating the clinical and economic expenditure impact of chronic wounds to the medicare program and illuminated the need for more wound-relevant quality measures, payment models and federal research funding. Alliance-sponsored research culminated in an article published in the prestigious economic journal ispor's value in health, "an economic evaluation of the impact, cost and medicare policy implications of chronic nonhealing wounds. " topline findings showed that chronic wounds impact nearly 15% of medicare beneficiaries (8. 2 million) at an annual cost to medicare conservatively estimated at $28. 1 to $31. 7 billion. Upon publication of the study, the alliance shared a topline news release and fact sheet to enable member organizations to share with their own memberships and constituents. We will continue to leverage this study to bolster our advocacy efforts. the alliance has been on the record with official comments, oral testimony and letters 17 times this year, as we pursued accurate, clinically sound local coverage determinations and payment policies via persistent advocacy with a/b macs, dmemacs and cms. In 2017, this included:-6 comments to cms on the cy2018 hospital outpatient pps, hospital inpatient pps, physician fee schedule, physician quality payment program, the request for information regarding a new direction of the center for medicaid and medicare innovation (cmmi), and the proposed decision memo for supervised exercise therapy for pad. -7 oral and written comments to a/b macs on novitas, first coast and wps wound care lcds that addressed a range of issues including npwt, disposable npwt (dnpwt), debridement, and more. -2 letters to the dmemacs raising concerns with the final surgical dressing lcd. -1 letter to hhs secretary and cms administrator co-signed with the alliance for hcpcs ii coding reform. -1 letter to congress (rep. Marsha blackburn r-tn) requesting exclusion of npwt from prior authorization as part of h. R. 2445 "dmepos access and transparency act of 2017" positively influenced and minimized the impact of a restrictive draft lcd on npwt. The alliance actively responded to a concerning novitas wound care local coverage determination issued in january. We testified at novitas' public meeting and submitted comments recording our concern about the overall lack of evidence to support the proposed changes, the elimination of coverage of disposable negative pressure wound therapy (dnpwt), and the arbitrary utilization parameters set for npwt and debridement services. The final policy, published in sept. , resolved many of our comments. It now includes coverage for dnpwt plus more flexibility in performing debridement and npwt.