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Washington E-Newsletter

CMS Selects Neurosurgeons for MEDCAC

On May 19, CMS appointed three AANS/CNS nominated individuals — Ketan R. Bulsara, MD, FAANS; Joshua M. Rosenow, MD, FAANS and Cheerag D. Upadhyaya, MD, FAANS — to serve on the Medicare Evidence Development and Coverage Advisory Committee (MEDCAC). MEDCAC comprises 100 experts who assist CMS in reviewing and evaluating medical literature, technology assessments and other information to help determine […]
Washington E-Newsletter

Neurosurgery Comments on Proposed Medicare Inpatient Payment Rule

On June 14, the AANS and the CNS sent a letter to the CMS regarding provisions in the Fiscal Year 2023 Medicare Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment proposed rule. In the letter, neurosurgery: Click here to read the letter and here to view the fact sheet on the proposed rule.
Washington E-Newsletter

AANS and CNS Urge CMS to Ban Step Therapy in Medicare

On June 1, the AANS and the CNS signed a letter asking the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to reinstate the step therapy prohibition in Medicare Advantage plans. In the letter, the groups requested that the agency prohibit step therapy for Part B drugs as specified in the original Sept. 17, 2012, memo “Prohibition on […]
Washington E-Newsletter

Neurosurgery Adopts Position Statement on Prior Authorization Imaging Requirements

On June 7, the AANS, CNS and AANS/CNS Joint Section on Disorders of the Spine and Peripheral Nerves adopted a new position statement titled “Image Sharing Requirement for Prior Authorization.” The neurosurgical groups believe that the doctor-patient relationship is an indispensable component of shared decision-making in choosing to undergo spine surgery. The concept that image […]
Washington E-Newsletter

Prior Authorization Legislation Introduced in the House

On June 9, Reps. Michael Burgess, MD, (R-Texas) and Vicente Gonzalez (D-Texas) introduced the Getting Over Lengthy Delays in Care As Required by Doctors Act (GOLD CARD) Act ( H.R. 7995), a bipartisan bill that the AANS and the CNS helped draft. This bill would exempt certain physicians from prior authorization in the Medicare Advantage (MA) program. Specifically, the […]
Washington E-Newsletter

Neurosurgeons Announce Principles for Reforming the Medicare Physician Payment System

On May 25, the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) and the Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS) endorsed principles for reforming the Medicare physician payment system. In collaboration with the American Medical Association, the 120 state and national medical societies developed “Characteristics of a Rational Medicare Payment System,” which outlines a unified set of shared goals for […]
Comment Letter

Neurosurgery-Led Coalition Calls on House Committee to Advance Prior Auth Legislation

Subject: Advancing Prior Authorization Legislation Dear Chairman Pallone, Ranking Member McMorris Rodgers, Chair DeGette and Ranking Member Guthrie: The Regulatory Relief Coalition (RRC) — a group of national physician specialty organizations advocating for regulatory burden reduction in Medicare so that physicians can spend more time treating patients — applauds the Committee on Energy and Commerce’s […]
  • Reimbursement and Practice Management
Comment Letter

Neurosurgery Comments on FY 2023 Proposed Medicare Hospital IPPS Payment

Ms. Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, AdministratorCenters for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesU.S. Department of Health and Human ServicesATTN: CMS-1771-PP.O. Box 8013 Baltimore, MD 21244-1850 Submitted electronically via https://www.regulations.gov/ SUBJECT: Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 Medicare Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) Proposed Rule (CMS-1771-P) Dear Administrator Brooks-LaSure: On behalf of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) and the […]
  • Reimbursement and Practice Management
Comment Letter

Neurosurgery Joins Surgical Coalition in Supporting Bill to Prevent Medicare Cuts

Dear Representatives Bera and Bucshon: The undersigned organizations representing surgeons and anesthesiologists support the Supporting Medicare Providers Act of 2022. We commend your leadership and commitment to stopping the 4.42% Medicare payment cut, and helping protect seniors’ access to surgical and other lifesaving care. We stand with you and commit our resources to passing this […]
  • Reimbursement and Practice Management
Position Statement

Neurosurgery Issues Position Statement on Prior Auth Imaging Requirements

Position Statement on Image Sharing Requirement for Prior Authorization BackgroundPrior authorization is an administrative process requiring physicians to obtain pre-approval for medical treatments or tests before rendering this care to their patients. Obtaining this approval from payers is burdensome and costly to physician practices. It requires providers and their staff to spend considerable time communicating […]