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Washington E-Newsletter

Neurosurgery Blog Highlights Program to Attract Underrepresented Students to Neurosurgery

Dedicated to alleviating health care disparities, the CNS Foundation’s Pathway to Neurosurgery program encourages high school students from underrepresented groups and/or disadvantaged backgrounds to pursue a career in neurosurgery. On Sept. 11, the CNS Foundation hosted the program for the third year during the CNS 2023 Annual Meeting in Washington, DC. Recognizing this noteworthy program, the District […]
Washington E-Newsletter

Neurosurgery Blog Features Article on Traumatic Odontoid Fractures

On July 17, the Neurosurgery Blog cross-posted a recent publication in Neurosurgery, the official journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons. Titled “Surgery Decreases Nonunion, Myelopathy, and Mortality for Patients With Traumatic Odontoid Fractures: A Propensity Score Matched Analysis,” the article was published as part of Neurosurgery’s High-Impact Manuscript Service. The article addresses odontoid fractures, common in elderly patients after a low-energy fall. […]
Washington E-Newsletter

AANS and CNS Comment on Hospital Outpatient and Ambulatory Surgery Center Payment Rule

On Sept. 11, the AANS and the CNS submitted comments regarding the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Calendar Year 2024 Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System and Ambulatory Surgical Center (ASC) Payment System proposed rule. In the letter, the neurosurgical societies opposed the CMS proposal to re-adopt two previously retired quality measures that would evaluate facility […]
Washington E-Newsletter

AANS and CNS Advocacy Results in CMS Rescinding Edit for Decompression Add-on Codes

Due to AANS and CNS leadership and advocacy, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) rescinded an incorrect National Correct Coding Initiative (NCCI) edit restricting the reporting of spinal fusion codes (Current Procedural Terminology (CPT®) codes 22630, 22632, 22633 and 22634) with decompression add-on codes (CPT codes 63052 and 63053). Unsatisfied with the agency’s original plan, […]
Washington E-Newsletter

2022 MIPS Final Scores and Payment Adjustments Now Available

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently released Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) performance feedback and final scores for the 2022 performance year, including MIPS payment adjustment information for the 2024 payment year. Neurosurgeons and designated practice staff may access 2022 MIPS performance feedback on the Quality Payment Program website, including final scores and 2024 payment adjustment information.  Neurosurgeons who believe […]
Washington E-Newsletter

Neurosurgeons Interviewed on Spinal Procedures

On Aug. 16, Becker’s Spine Review published an interview with AANS president Anthony L. Asher, MD, FAANS, FACS, and AANS board member Dom Coric, MD, FAANS. Titled “Are unnecessary spinal surgeries on the rise? Here’s why the answer might be complicated,” Drs. Asher and Coric discussed why practicing evidence-based medicine & participating in clinical outcomes registries will help prevent […]
Washington E-Newsletter

Neurosurgeon Authors Op-Ed on Border Wall Injuries

On July 6, The Hill published an op-ed titled, “A new crisis at the border: Traumatic injuries caused by falls from Trump’s 30-foot wall.” In the op-ed, Alexander Tenorio, MD, a neurological surgery resident at the University of California San Diego, discusses the injuries and economic burden of height extensions of U.S.-Mexico border wall barriers. “As a physician, it is […]
Washington E-Newsletter

Neurosurgeon Authors JAMA Article on Physician Burnout

On Sept. 1, the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) published an article, “Improving Health Care Quality Measurement to Combat Clinician Burnout.” In the article, neurosurgeon Anthony M. DiGiorgio, DO, MHA, FAANS, joined AMA president Jesse M. Ehrenfeld, MD, MPH, and Brian J. Miller, MD, MBA, MPH, in discussing the impacts and causes of burnout, which affects up to two-thirds of physicians. […]
Washington E-Newsletter

House Committee Advances Prior Authorization Legislation

On July 26, the House Ways and Means Committee advanced legislation — the Health Care Transparency Act (H.R.4822) — to reform prior authorization in the Medicare Advantage (MA) program. The broader bill included the neurosurgery-backed Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act (H.R. 3173 in the 117th Congress). Before consideration, the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) and […]
Washington E-Newsletter

House and Senate Committees Pass Public Health Preparedness Legislation

On July 17, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce passed the Preparing for All Hazards and Pathogens Reauthorization Act (H.R. 4421). Subsequently, on July 20, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions passed its version of the bill, the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act (S. 2333). Both bills would reauthorize the public […]