National Association of Surveillance Officials Newsletter

Volume 18, No. 1 April 2003

2003 Conference Update

Greetings NASO Members, from your New Mexico Host, Elizabeth Bradley!

Only five months until the 19th Annual NASO Conference in Santa Fe, NM! Known as the “City Different,” Santa Fe supports both historic culture and modern technology, while offering an outstanding quality of life for both young and old.

When you visit Santa Fe, plan on extra days to explore more of New Mexico. Santa Fe is a small but cosmopolitan city with opera, art galleries and fabulous restaurants, while the surrounding regions of New Mexico have more of an old west flavor to bring out the explorer in you. Here you will find amazing beauty, ancient cultures, outdoor recreation and warm hospitality. Sports and outdoor activities include golf, hiking, rafting, and horseback riding.

While you are here, visit the hot springs at Ojo Caliente, get a massage at Ten Thousand Waves, or hike the ancient ruins at Bandelier National Monument. If you are looking for something less physically demanding, be sure to visit one of the fabulous museums or art galleries. The Museum of International Folk Art is hosting the exhibit Ceramica Y Cultura: The Story of Spanish and Mexican Mayolica, as well as Flor y Canto: Reflections from Nuevo Mexico. The Museum of Fine Arts is hosting Realism to Abstraction: Art in New Mexico 1917 - 2002, while the Museum of Spanish Colonial Art is hosting Conexiones: Connections in Spanish Colonial Art.

It takes several visits to truly experience this magical city, and although anytime of year is a good time to escape to the enchanted landscape of Santa Fe, we look forward to seeing you at the NASO Conference August 31 - September 3, 2003!

President’s Pen

Make your plans now to be a part of the NASO Conference in Santa Fe, NM. You will be glad you did as many have worked hard to make this one of the best. With the resignation of Charles R. Young II from the Board of Directors as Vice President we will be electing a President, Vice President and Treasurer at the conference. If anyone is interested please make it known to your regional representative. We have a by-law committee drafting changes now for your consideration. We hope to have the draft finished in time for your review before the Conference in Santa Fe, if not it will be available at the registration desk. At the NAMFCU meeting I attended in March we discussed how to improve relations between MFCUs and PI/SURS units. I suggested that we establish a work group between the two organizations to identify problem areas and best practices etc. This work group could work out any issues identified and draft a paper to send out from the two organizations. The NASO Board has approved going forward with this. We are currently looking for volunteers to serve on this work group. If you are interested please contact Alan White whiteas@dhfs.state.wi.us or myself PICEF.Lakeland.DOM@medicaid.state.ms.us ASAP as a conference call will be set up within the next two weeks. Look forward to seeing you in Santa Fe.

Carlis E. Faler, NASO President

An Invitation to Santa Fe

The program being presented this year results from input received from our host state, New Mexico, evaluation from attendees of our last two conferences and the NASO Board. Your program priorities and those of your states have been taken into consideration. The focus of the NASO annual conference is always to provide information on the latest available technology, updates regarding Medicaid and Medicare from the federal government, and learning fraud and abuse techniques that work in other states. This is often the only opportunity that folks involved with Medicaid Program Integrity in the states have to discuss issues of similar interest.

Santa Fe is a very special city, unlike any other in the United States. It combines arts and culture with centuries old traditions of its Spanish and Native American heritage. There are many colorful restaurants, galleries, downhill skiing, horseback riding, golf, tennis, shopping, and the famous Native American market all set in a beautiful Southwestern treasure of a city.

NASO has the rare experience of securing a beautiful luxury hotel for our conference, the Eldorado Hotel, in downtown Santa Fe, at a very reasonable rate. It is a four-star, four-diamond hotel built in pueblo style with kiva fireplaces and handcrafted Southwestern furniture with beautiful works of art throughout the hotel. The Old House restaurant in the hotel is a Triple A Award restaurant and is recognized nationally by food critics. Across the street is the highly-acclaimed Georgia O’Keeffe Museum. This is a great opportunity to combine a family vacation with the conference. Make your reservations directly with the hotel at 800.955.4455, and ask for the NASO conference rate.

You may fly into Santa Fe or Albuquerque. Most will find it less expensive and more convenient to fly into Albuquerque, and take the beautiful, one-hour scenic drive to Santa Fe via airport shuttle to the hotel. You can call the Santa Fe Shuttle at 1.888.833.2300 to obtain their schedule and other details. Their current fees are $38 round trip (there is also a senior discount). The other shuttle is the Sandia Shuttle at 1.888.775.5696, current fees are $43 round trip (pay by credit card), or $46 cash round trip.

Contact me if you have questions. Hope to see you in Santa Fe!

Yvonne Wood
Agenda Chair
ycwood@aol.com
615.444.9663

Payment Accuracy Measurement (PAM) Mandated by Congress

On November 26, 2002, the President signed H.R. 4878 “The Improper Payments Information Act of 2002" (Public Law 107-300) requiring all federal agencies with “programs or activities that may be susceptible to significant improper payments” to annually review these programs. In addition the Office of Management and Budget published circular A-11, which notes in Exhibit 57B that the programs within the Department of Health and Human Services for which erroneous payment information is requested include: Head Start, Medicare, Medicaid, TANF, Foster Care Title IV-E, S-CHIP, and the Child Care and Development Fund.

In order to comply with the definitions of erroneous payments cited in OMB Circular A-11 and the Improper Payments Information Act of 2002, OMB has requested that CMS develop a means of incorporating eligibility verification, in addition to over and under payments, into the PAM Project for FY 2003. This verification must include an independent review and/or “look behind” of the eligibility documentation.

CMS is proposing to incorporate eligibility verification into the current year PAM Project.

Are you prepared to conduct payment accuracy measurement in your state? It is now the law of the land! Would you know how to stratify, select and review a sample? Would you know how to incorporate eligibility verification? What have you learned from the pilot states working with CMS on the PAM project?

CMS and several of the states participating in the PAM project will be making a presentation and answering questions at the NASO Conference in Santa Fe. Come, be informed, participate in the development of the PAM model, or just live with the outcome!

Don Gregory,
NASO Past President
PAM Participant

NASO Regional Representatives Elected at 2002 Conference

Region I Sherry Bozoian (NH)
ME, VT, NH, MA, CT, RI

Region II Lydia Kosinski (NI)
NY, NJ, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands

Region III Jeanne Cress (WV)
PA, WV, MD, VA, DE, District of Columbia

Region IV Otis Washington (MS)
FL, GA, KY, TN, NC, SC, MS, AL

Region V Alan White (WI)
IL, WI, MN, MI, OH, IN

Region VI Pam Ward (TX)
TX, NM, OK, AR, LA

Region VII Lou Ann Gebhards (KS)
NE, IA, KS, MO

Region VIII Steve Gatzemeier (UT)
CO, UT, WY, MT, ND, SD

Region IX Ann Kensey (CA)
CA, NV, AZ, HI, Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas, Guam, Samoa

Region X Kristina Tamm-Finnerud (WA)
WA, OR, ID, AK

NASO Policy on Scholarships
Adopted by NASO Executive Board

Scholarship awards, if any, are at the discretion of the board, and in an amount to be determined by the board, not to exceed $600 for any individual per conference;

Consideration of the award will be based on, but not limited to:
a. Demonstrated prior commitment to NASO;
b. Financial need that might otherwise limit participation by a conference presenter;
c. Financial need that might otherwise lead a state underrepresented at the NASO conference;

Scholarship awards are payable as a reimbursement at the conference;

Awards may be made to a single individual, or shared by individuals from a state at their discretion, as long as the maximum limit of $600 per individual is not exceeded.

Scholarship application procedures are as follows:

The NASO Executive Board has agreed that starting April 21, 2003, it will entertain written applications for scholarship requests to attend the annual conference. The written applications should address at minimum items in number two above. The written requests will be reviewed, and are subject to available funds. The intent of the scholarships is not to send multiple representatives from the same State, but rather to afford each State the opportunity to send a representative. The requests should be sent to Linda Green, NASO Secretary, at: leel@dhmh.state.md.us.

All applications submitted before June 15, 2003, will be given first consideration. Any applications submitted after June 15, 2003, will be reviewed if scholarships are available.

Carlis Faler, NASO President

From the NASO Board of Directors

Dear Friends at NASO:

As many of you know, I recently made a very difficult decision and resigned from the Board of Directors of NASO. When I joined West Virginia’s Medicaid program in 1995, it was a career change for me, and I thought it would be the last during my employment with state government. That turned out not to be the situation. On March 17, 2003, I accepted a position in a different Bureau. I am excited about the opportunities the new position presents, and have a great staff to assist me. Unfortunately, I am no longer involved in Medicaid Program Integrity issues.

Although I had to give the decision a lot of serious thought, I eventually came to the realization that I could no longer contribute to NASO where I am now working. I wish the organization the very best and hope it will continue to grow, and to provide the valuable service it has always been noted to provide.

During my nearly eight years of membership in the organization, I have made a lot of great friends and I value those relationships. My email address remains the same. I am including my contact information and hope that I will hear from you.

Sincerely,

Charles R. Young II,
Assistant Commissioner Children and Family Policy
Bureau for Children and Families
The Diamond Building
350 Capitol Street, Room 730
Charleston, WV 25301-3711
Telephone: 304.558.5204
FAX: 304.558.4623
email: youngc@wvdhhr.org