NEWS Indiana Athletic Trainers Association MARCH 2012 INSIDE THIS ISSUE. Upcoming Issue. Continued on next page.

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1 NEWS ethe Indiana Athletic Trainers Association is committed to providing quality healthcare for Hoosiers and strives to advance the athletic training profession. Be an example YOU would be proud of. -unknown I am writing this article for the newsletter with great trepidation. After two years as your President, the time has passed quickly. I have enjoyed representing you in the everyday issues in the state. I entered this position wondering what will get accomplished during my tenure. I am pleased John Locke, LAT, ATC to say, many important items have been addressed and completed. I want to first take the opportunity to thank the many individuals that have assisted the numerous ventures the IATA has been involved with over the past two years of my Presidency. I will touch on many of them throughout this article as I explain the ventures we pursued. First and foremost, I want to thank Craig Voll and Scott Lawrance. Craig influenced my leadership as I learned the job as the President-Elect and Scott for his support and input these last two years. I am very confident that Scott will lead the state to bigger and better places as President. The most notable advancement of the IATA over the past two years was the athletic trainer reimbursement law. It was a historical event as Governor Daniels signed our bill into law. Those members who were instrumental in the entire process are Kip Smith, Rick Shaw, Craig Voll, Scott Lawrance, David Craig and our lobbyist Lou Belch. None of the success could have been done without the hard work and time committed to this project by these individuals. We should all thank them very much. The Fall Meeting has continued to be a large success and the student involvement has been incredible. Indiana s ATEP are very well represented. The entire Education Committee has been very important in the success of this event. David Craig, Adam Thompson and Steve Risinger have led this committee. A special thanks goes to Erin Clark for setting up the program and speakers for the meeting. They have been very educational and informative to the membership. The student leadership (Alyssa McPherson, Lucas Dargo and Amy Gibson) has been exceptional in the student programs during the fall meetings and GLATA involvement. Continued on next page. MARCH 2012 Indiana Athletic Trainers Association The IATA is recognized by the Indiana State Medical Association Commission on Sports Medicine and the Governor s Council for Physical Fitness and Sports Medicine. INSIDE THIS ISSUE (Click On Link) President s Message GLATA Committee Positions National AT Month 2012 Night at the ICE 2012 History and Archives Reimbursement Update Content Due Upcoming Issue April 15 May 1 Date Subject to Change Newsletter Out

2 IATA Executive Council President John Locke, EdD, LAT, ATC President Elect Scott Lawrance, LAT, ATC Past President Craig Voll, LAT, ATC Secretary Jessica Emlich, LAT, ATC Treasurer Justin Miller, MS, LAT, CSCS IATA Central Office Ann Ninness Stephanie Waddell ce1.com e NEWS For information covered in this electronic newsletter or to submit articles or ideas, please contact the IATA Communications Chair: Betsy Halwes bhalwes@hotmail.com Memorials Please forward all notices of memorials to: Jeff Stein, LAT, ATC, DPT jlstein@purdue.edu Indiana Athletic Trainers Association The entire Executive Council has been a wonderful volunteer resource for the IATA. I thank all of the members for their support and their time and energy over the past two years. Most of the athletic trainer s in Indiana do not realize how much time goes into the committee chair positions. I have felt each EC member has put great effort into making all decisions and discussing important topics that are important to the membership. I am forever grateful for their assistance and support. It has been a great experience and my pleasure to serve the Licensed Athletic Trainers of Indiana as your President over the past two years. I have enjoyed my time and I have a hard time believing it has gone so quickly. As President, it has always been my goal to continue to increase the strong commitment of our members and add additional energetic athletic trainers from all parts of the state to assist the ongoing leadership activities we have in place and yet to come. If any of you have the desire to help in any way, please contact me (jlocke4@indy.rr.com) or Scott Lawrance (scott.lawrance@sbcglobal.net). Opportunities are many. If you are interested in serving on a committee (listed on the web site, helping organize an event, or learning how our organization works; there are spots for you in our association. We are a volunteer organization and your participation is very important to our success. It is time to start thinking about nominees for the IATA awards presented in October at the Fall Meeting. Please visit the website ( to review the criteria for the awards and nominate deserving IATA members for the appropriate awards. Please nominate IATA members so they can receive their just due. The Executive Board values your opinions and we would like to hear about any new ideas, concerns, or comments from our members. You can reach any of the Executive Board members by or by phone. ( Please keep in mind the importance of acting professional in our daily duties, giving the best care possible, and having a passion for our profession as representatives from our Association. We are recognized by our personal approach to people and our commitment to our profession. As always, follow your heart and be of great service to others. John Locke, EdD, LAT, ATC jlocke4@indy.rr.com President, IATA GLATA Committee Chair Vacancies: GLATA is currently seeking committee chairs for the following positions: Governmental Affairs Committee on Revenue Public Relations Development Memorial Resolutions Nominate someone you think would be a great leader today at: 2

3 Indiana Athletic Trainers Association National Athletic Training Month 2012: Don t forget to report your National Athletic Training Month events and to complete either a GLATA or NATA nomination for your NATM activities! As a reminder, this year s theme is Athletic Trainers Save Lives. All reports for any NATM events should go to Communications Chair, Betsy Halwes, at bhalwes@hotmail.com by April 8th. A report of Indiana NATM activities has to be submitted by Betsy before April 15th. Please send a synopsis of your event and any pictures you have. We hope to see you at the IATA Night at the ICE on March 31st! IATA Night at the ICE: Saturday, March 31, 2012 Pepsi Coliseum Puck drops at 7 PM Join us before the Game in the Harris Bank Suite for a Pizza Party! Be sure to arrive in time to watch our special guests Drop the Puck Tickets are $15 for a member and $25 for non-members and include your meal and game ticket Register today - Click Here! March is NATIONAL ATHLETIC TRAINING MONTH Help us celebrate this year s theme Athletic Trainers Save Lives Athletic trainers are health care professionals who specialize in the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of injuries and sport-related illnesses. Visit Online Registration will close on Wednesday, March 28th 3 IATA Committees Education Adam Thompson adam.thompson@indwes.edu Steve Risinger sdrisinger@anderson.edu Finance Brian Murphy brianmurphy71@sbcglobal.net Governmental Affairs Rick Shaw rick.shaw@amfam.com Revenue Kip Smith wksmith@indiana.edu Membership Barb Caton b.caton@insightbb.com Diversity Kristine Ensign krisensign@gmail.com Honors & Awards Bernie Stento bstento@duneland.k12.in.us Memorial Resolutions Jeff Stein jlstein@purdue.edu All Stars Steven Zook szook@methodistsports.com High School Jim Miller jwmiller@warrick.k12.in.us College/University Jennifer Popp jenpopp@anderson.edu Professional Erin Barill erin.barill@colts.nfl.net Clinical/Industrial/Corporate Jill Davis jillyd2012@gmail.com Communications Betsy Halwes bhalwes@hotmail.com Student Representatives Lucas Dargo lddargo@bsu.edu Amy Gibson agibson@franklincollege.edu

4 IATA Corporate Sponsors Click on Sponsor Logo to link to their web site. Elite Level Indiana Athletic Trainers Association From the History and Archives Committee: Recently the history and archives committee put together some interesting facts about the past president s of IATA. Please take a moment to check out this new feature to the IATA website. You can find the Presidential History Page located on the About Us tab at Gold Level Bronze Level (Pictured from L to R) Row 1: David Craig and Craig Voll; Row 2: John Locke and Katie Grove; Row 3: Ned Shannon, Steve Risinger and Kip Smith; Row 4: Rick Shaw and Ralph Reiff Reimbursement Update: Ground breaking legislation for insurance reimbursement for Athletic Training Services became effective July 1, This legislation applies only to healthcare policies that are renewed after that date, which usually occurs January 1 of each year. While the new law does not mandate or require reimbursement for particular services, it does make certain that insurers cannot avoid paying for otherwise covered services merely because the services were provided by LATs (assuming the services properly fall within the LAT scope of practice). It also adds LAT services to the list of potentially reimbursable HMO services. Under current accident and sickness insurance statutes, health care services means services rendered by a provider within the scope of practice of the provider s license. It is important to remember, Indiana insurance law applies to insured members only and that many of the policies in Indiana are Administrative Services Only (ASO) and covered under ERISA laws. Therefore, all members benefits, and provider types covered should be verified before services are rendered. In January, Kip Smith, LAT (IATA Revenue Committee, Chair) and Paul Plummer, LAT (IATA Revenue Committee), Lou Belch (IATA Lobbyist), and Linda Barrabee (Director of Provider Services for Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Indiana) met to discuss how to best begin this process of contracting Athletic Trainers into Anthem Networks. Discussion topics included credentialing Athletic Trainers, contracting with Athletic Trainers, and how to begin the process to get reimbursed. 4

5 Indiana Athletic Trainers Association Linda Barrabee indicated that it is Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield s intention to credential Athletic Trainers into their networks but at this time they are not prepared internally for this to occur. They are continuing to work toward this goal. In the interim, Anthem will contract with Athletic Trainers for reimbursement of services. The Athletic Trainer Services are not a separate benefit within their policies but are now included within their existing rehabilitation benefit currently utilized by other rehabilitation providers. For those of you that would like to begin the process of becoming contracted within Anthem Networks, below is a link and brief description of where to find that link on Anthem s website. Go to Click on Provider, make sure you Enter the Indiana site, then Choose Provider Maintenance Form or you can be linked to it directly here path=provider/in/f4/s3/t0/pw_a htm&state=in&rootlevel=0&label=provider Maintenance Form. This is the form that initiates the process. Once it is received by Anthem, they will send you additional information such as the Professional Services Contract to complete the contracted relationship. Once Anthem receives this additional information it is typically 30 days until an effective date is issued. It is critical that you do not see insured patients until after this effective date. Once you begin seeing Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield members, all services must be billed on a HCFA 1500 claim form. More information regarding eligibility, billing of claims, etc., can be found on the provider portal of Remember that LAT s are not currently eligible to provide services for and be reimbursed through Medicare/Medicaid. At the beginning of this link is a question asking, Do you currently participate in and want to update information or wish to apply for participation in the Healthy Indiana Plan (HIP) and/or the Medicaid State Sponsored networks managed by Anthem? You should click no as we are not eligible and then would be directed to the Provider Maintenance Form. This form is used for a variety of provider types. It is not specific to Athletic Trainers. Some sections are not applicable to the services you provide. If you have specific questions on how to complete the form, there is a link on Anthem s site to ask questions and receive clarity specific to your employment situation. You will need to make available your Indiana Athletic Trainer License number as well as your National Provider Identifier (NPI) number. If you have not already received your NPI number, you can follow the following link and begin that process. This was a very productive and beneficial meeting with Linda Barrabee. Although there are sure to be individual snags and hurdles as we begin this relationship, we feel confident that we have an ally within Anthem. Please work through your local/regional Anthem representative for your specific questions and concerns, but at the same time, please share any issues with the IATA Revenue Committee. You can contact your Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Indiana representative by calling (800) We will keep a repository of these concerns looking for patterns or areas that we can help all of our members through education or by taking these concerns through our official channels for clarification. As we begin this important and historic journey, it is important that we all continue to provide quality healthcare and do everything with the highest of standards. This process should be followed for each Insured Network (United, Cigna, Humana, etc) in which you would like to participate. If you have questions or concerns, they can be directed to Kip Smith, Chair, Revenue Committee, (wksmith@indiana. edu) or Paul Plummer (pauleplummer@yahoo.com). 5