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Colorado Athletic Trainers' Association |
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Fall 2004 CATA Newsletter LEGISLATIVE HAPPENINGS - IMPORTANT! TOWN HALL MEETINGS - IMPORTANT! AN URGENT MESSAGE FROM THE NATA PRESIDENT EMAIL NOTIFICATION FROM THE CATA THE CATA ANNUAL SYMPOSIUM AND BUSINESS MEETING
Dear Members:
I hope this newsletter finds you and yours happy, healthy and safe. It has been a beautiful summer here and I hope that each of you have had the chance to enjoy some of the Colorado outdoors and at the same time managed to get some rest because fall sports are right around the corner.
This has been a very busy and exciting summer for the Colorado Athletic Trainers Association (CATA) for many reasons: We have had some significant events occur on the legislative front. The board of directors recently appointed three new committee heads and four state representatives to national committees. We also appointed over 25 members to our legislative action task force. If that were not enough, we also have begun plans for our clinical symposium and annual business meeting.
Please read this newsletter thoroughly, as it contains the details of the above activities, and many other important topics. As always if you have any questions, comments or concerns regarding the CATA please feel free to contact any board member.
Sincerely,
Chris Mathewson Colorado Athletic Trainers Association President
Legislative Happenings - Chris Mathewson
Quite a lot has happened on our state legislative front since our summer newsletter. I would like to bring you all up to speed on the board of directors activities:
June During the National Athletic Trainers Association (NATA) Convention in Baltimore the NATA Governmental Affairs Committee (GAC) hosted a meeting with board members from District 7. This meeting was intended to put everyone on the same page as far as the role and expectations of the NATA GAC. Procedures for applying for funding from the NATA GAC were also discussed at length. Updates on the current legislative actions occurring were also given by each state in District 7.
According to Colorado statute any profession wishing to gain regulation must FIRST submit and application for regulation to the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA). The CATA submitted our application on June 29th. It was the culmination of a great deal of effort by the BOD and Mr. Rick Ball, CATA legal counsel. DORA has 15 months to review the application and make a recommendation for or against regulation. DORA must recommend for regulation before any bill can be submitted to the state legislature.
July The NATA Board of Certification (BOC) hosted a two day national summit on athletic training regulation in Salt Lake City at the end of July. The BOC paid all expenses for one board member of each state and one representative from each state’s athletic training regulatory board to attend this meeting. Forty nine states were represented. Why have regulation, how to attain quality regulation, how to avoid restrictive practice acts, how legal discipline works in various states, what states would recommend to do and avoid while working to pass an athletic training practice act, and ideas for future summit meetings were among many of the topics discussed. It was a GREAT meeting and I learned an enormous amount.
The NATA and BOC made it very clear that their top priority in each of their strategic plans is to attain quality athletic training regulation in each of the fifty states. They are committed to this and are currently formulating action plans on how they can pool their resources to be the most effective in providing assistance to states seeking to attain or improve their athletic training practice acts.
While in Salt Lake I met with the NATA governmental leaders: Teresa Foster-Welch, NATA Assistant Executive Director, Cate Brennan-Lisak, NATA External Marketing Director, and Keith Webster, NATA GAC Chairman to discuss our legislative happenings in Colorado. It was a very productive meeting and I left feeling very confident with the commitment of the NATA in assisting states seeking to improve and/or create new athletic training legislation. At the end of the meeting the leaders told me that they felt we had a very good plan in Colorado and were quite pleased with our efforts thus far.
August In the first week of August the CATA board held a meeting to continue to effectively plan our athletic training legislative efforts. We also discussed the outcomes of both the Salt Lake and Baltimore meetings. At that time, we unanimously appointed Jennifer Dougherty as chair of the CATA Legislative Action Task Force (LATF) and State Representative to the Governmental Affairs Committee. We also appointed 26 CATA members to the LATF. Jennifer will be coordinating their efforts on various tasks regarding athletic training legislation.
We also finalized our proposed legislative funding request for this NATA fiscal year (March 1, 2004- April 31, 2005). Upon completion of our proposal, I submitted it to the NATA GAC. They will take 4-6 weeks to evaluate the request.
While the Arizona Athletic Trainers Association (AZATA) was pursuing athletic training licensure they held “Town Hall Meetings” with their membership at various locations across their state. The AZATA leadership has told me that these meetings were VERY beneficial in the legislative process for their state. It was an opportunity for members to ask questions, and provide feedback in an “informal” way. They were told by many of their members that they appreciated the opportunity to “discuss” the issues. The AZATA leadership recommended this type of meeting to me for our members. The CATA LATF is currently in the process of scheduling FOUR separate meetings to be held across the state. (Details are in this newsletter, and will follow via e-mail and mailings).
At the end of August Mr. Ball provided the CATA with our draft legislation bill. Although we technically do not need any draft bill until AFTER DORA recommends for regulation the BOD thought it would be prudent to have a draft of our proposed legislation so that members can see and understand what they are going to support. We will also be able to meet with other healthcare organizations to show what we are doing, and if necessary “negotiate” ahead of time.
As you can see, we have been very busy this summer working for OUR association. Many steps have been taken to create a very firm foundation for our athletic training legislation effort. Even though we have 15 months before we can move to the state legislature, we are not going to rest. We will be actively working on our “grass roots” campaign to educate and seek support from our members. Educate and seek support from other healthcare professions, and if necessary “neutralize” or decrease any opposition they might have to us gaining athletic training legislation.
This is a MONUMENTAL task that can not be done by the BOD or LATF alone. It will take the efforts and support of EVERY member of our state association. It is important that each of you be involved, whether it is by serving on the LATF, providing financial support, contacting state legislators, working with other healthcare professions, attending the town hall meetings and voicing your support and asking questions. Everyone needs to be involved. We are all busy professionals and regardless of your work setting if you are a certified athletic trainer, athletic training legislation will affect you.
If you have any questions, comments or concerns please feel free to contact any board member. I would also encourage you to attend any of the town hall meetings.
The CATA is approaching a very important time for our association. The Board of Directors needs our members to understand the actions that have been taken on their behalf regarding legislative efforts and also very much need to hear the membership’s feedback and any concerns regarding athletic training legislation.
With the idea of an informative discussion-oriented meeting in mind, we have decided to host FOUR “Town Hall Meetings”. These meetings will be held across the state at various locations starting in November. At this time, the logistics are still being determined. We will notify members via e-mail, postcards and hopefully phone calls to announce the exact meeting dates, and locations. Below is a tentative schedule.
1. Colorado Springs (Mid November) 6:30-8:30 pm 2. Denver (Mid November) 6:30-8:30 pm 3. Northern location (January 2005) 6:30-8:30 pm 4. Western location (February 2005) 6:30-8:30 pm
Regardless of the setting you work in, if you are a certified athletic trainer in the state of Colorado, athletic training legislation will affect you. Please make arrangements to attend the meeting that is closest to you. They will be your opportunity to ask questions and provide feedback to the board of directors regarding athletic training legislation.
An Urgent Message from the NATA President
Dear NATA Member:
The federal government has published a proposal to mandate that ONLY physical therapists are qualified to provide physical medicine services to Medicare patients. We feel this action is supported and encouraged by NATA’s competitor organizations. This is bad news for you and all certified athletic trainers. If Medicare is successful with this action, it is likely our competition will pursue similar regulation in all work settings and states. Their ultimate goal is to limit your ability to practice.
Here are the details: · NATA fought a very similar battle (and won temporarily) in 2003. At that time, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed changes in the payment rules governing outpatient therapy services provided “incident to” a physician’s professional services. · Now they’re back. Curiously, this CMS proposal ONLY relates to the delivery of outpatient therapy services—exactly those services provided by certified athletic trainers. CMS proposes to establish minimum standards for individuals who can work “incident to” physicians. The proposed change would only qualify physical therapists to perform these services. As a certified athletic trainer, you should be outraged and concerned about this effort by CMS to judge you as unqualified to provide therapy services under the supervision of a physician. · In urging CMS to adopt this policy, this is what the APTA had to say about you, the athletic trainer. “It has been a long-standing concern of APTA that personnel who are unlicensed and have not graduated from an accredited PT professional program furnish services in physicians’ offices and those services are billed as therapy services under the Medicare program. Under current policy it is possible for a high school student or another individual with no training in anatomy, physiology, neuromuscular reeducation or other techniques to furnish services in a physician’s office without the physician actually observing the provision of these services.”
The public comment period on this proposed change has begun and the deadline for submitting comments is September 24. ALL athletic trainers, regardless of practice situation, must take this opportunity to tell CMS that this proposed change is a bad idea for patients and physicians.
Attached to this e-mail are two documents. The first includes detailed instructions for submitting comments to CMS. (click here for these instructions). The second document is a sample letter that includes NATA’s key messages. (click here for the sample letter) Please take action immediately by submitting your comments directly to CMS. Also enlist support from your physicians and other medical colleagues, who should be encouraged to submit comments as well.
You must stand up and defend your professional credential and contact CMS and object to this change in the strongest terms possible. This proposal has significant implications not only for our national health care system and patients but for the profession of athletic training as well.
One of our greatest strengths as a profession is our willingness to pull together to support our fellow members. Now, more than ever, we need that support. Please take the time to act on this information regardless of your current work setting because, in the long run, it will impact all of us.
Sincerely,
Chuck Kimmel, ATC President National Athletic Trainers’ Association
CATA Position Appointments September 2004
The following people have graciously volunteered to assist OUR association in various capacities. We would like to thank them.
Shawn Carmody -- Scholarship & Awards Committee Colleen Conroy -- Scholarship & Awards Committee, Chair Shannon Courtney – College and University Athletic Training Committee State Representative Jennifer Dougherty – Legislative Action Task Force, Chair & Governmental Affairs Committee State Representative Ed Fusiek -- Student Athletic Trainer Committee Ami Gallivan -- Student Athletic Trainer Committee & Scholarship and Awards Committee Elizabeth Kirtley – Clinical, Industrial, Corporate Committee State Representative Jaclyn Lucas – Student Athletic Trainer Committee, Chair Clay Selby – Committee on Revenue State Representative
For other volunteer opportunities please contact any board member. OUR association is strong from the efforts of it’s many dedicated members.
In an effort to increase and improve communication with our members the CATA will be utilizing e-mail a great deal more. We will be using the e-mail addresses that each member has provided to the National Athletic Trainers Association (NATA). If you have a new address or would like to receive your e-mails at another location please update the national office.
These e-mails will be coming as personal messages, not group mail. They will be coming from either Bart Peterson, Margaret Hunt, or Chris Mathewson. Please make sure that your Spam blockers have those three on your “safe” list.
The Colorado Athletic Trainers Association Clinical Symposium and Annual Business Meeting is tentatively scheduled on March 19 & 20th, 2005 at Gunter Hall on the University of Northern Colorado campus in Greeley.
At this time, meeting speakers are still being determined. Watch your e-mail and mailboxes for further information.
The following members are eligible for and have accepted nominations for and the 2005 election
Vice President Carrie Haugen Scott Thomas
At- Large Member Lisa Lear Chris Nagelhout Gwyneth Short
Secretary Gregg Harper Jason McWilliams
Biographical information and ballots will be sent to all voting members in April 2005 and the results will be announced at the May 2005 Symposium.
Call for Nominations Nominations for 2006 election to the offices of President and one At-Large position will be accepted prior to or at the 2005 Business Meeting.
The Public Relations
Committee is looking for new ideas to continue educating the public about
Athletic Training. Last year Jim Gillen added a new event to our list of
activities. The "Excellence in High School Athletic Training" award was a huge
success and earned Jim an award from the NATA. We will continue many of the
activities that we have done in the past, but we would like to add to that list
each year. Any athletic trainer who has an idea and would be willing to help
implement that idea should contact Bob Tim or any other member of the public
relations Corporate Sponsorship Committee The CATA Corporate Sponsorship Committee is continuing to finalize the last bit of our solicitation letter to help promote the sponsorship of the CATA. There has been a interest by companies and physicians who I have spoken with. We are continuing to look for additional help and potential sponsors.
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