July 2005

Johnson reappointed to HHS advisory council

Joe Johnson, DC, has been reappointed to serve for a second term with the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Practicing Physicians Advisory Council (PPAC). He was originally appointed to a four-year term in 2000 by HHS secretary Tommy Thompson.

Johnson had previously served as chair of the Healthcare Professional Advisory Committee for the National Committee for Quality Assurance. In 1999, he was appointed to the Medicare Coverage Advisory Committee.

In Florida, Johnson is active on the Medicare of Florida Carrier Advisory Committee and acts as a chiropractic liaison to both Medicare of Florida and Blue Cross of Florida.

The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 mandated the creation of the PPAC, which was put in place to advise the HHS secretary and the CMS administrator on changes to Medicare regulations and carrier manual instructions. PPAC is made up of 15 physician members, all of which must have billed at least 250 Medicare claims. Eleven of the members must be either medical doctors or doctors of osteopathy, and the others may include doctors of chiropractic, podiatrists, dentists, and ophthalmologists. This year only three of the 15 seats on the council were open.

Source: American Chiropractic Association, www.acatoday.com

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