White House Announces End to COVID-19 Public Health Emergency for May 2023 On January 29, 2023, the Biden Administration announced a deadline of May 11, 2023 for ending the Public Health Emergency (PHE) that was first declared in March 2020. The official statement, which was made in the form of a letter sent to the...

ISASS Submits Request for New Diagnostic Codes for Low Back Pain On December 2, 2022, ISASS submitted a request to the ICD-10 Coordination and Maintenance Committee for new ICD-10 diagnostic codes for discogenic low back pain with leg pain. The request  will be reviewed in a public forum meeting in March 2023 with publication of...

Federal Trade Commission Proposes Ban on Non-complete Clauses On January 19, 2023 the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a proposed rule that if finalized would ban most non-compete clauses used in employment arrangements. The American Medical Association (AMA) issued the following statement in response to the proposed rule: “The AMA appreciates the Federal Trade Commission’s...

CMS Announces 2023 Announces Finalized Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Conversion Factor On January 5, 2023, CMS released updated national Medicare physician payment files that incorporate the changes in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 that was passed at the end of December 2022 and off set previously announced physician reimbursement reductions. Specifically, in response to...