Dr. Kapoor on LUGPA's Legislative Advocacy

Deepak A. Kapoor, MD, chairman and CEO of Integrated Medical Professionals and Large Urology Group Practice Association’s (LUGPA’s) chairman of health policy, discusses LUGPA’s legislative advocacy efforts.

This year represents the most successful year of legislative advocacy for LUGPA, Kapoor says. The organization commented on outpatient prospective payment system (OPPS) and influenced changes in reimbursements for GreenLight laser therapy and extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL).

In addition, LUGPA also commented on a proposal by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) that would have classified radiation for prostate and breast cancers under a “simple” code, resulting in a 30% payment cut. The proposal, which is part of CMS’s preliminary physician fee schedule, was recently deferred pending further studies.