Washington E-Newsletter

Congress is poised to approve H.R. 748, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, the third phase of an unprecedented legislative effort to provide more than $2 trillion in economic stimulus and financial assistance to address the COVID-19 pandemic.

On Oct. 29, the Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS) and the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) joined the Alliance of Specialty Medicine in endorsing S. 2546, the Safe Step Act. Sponsored by Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Doug Jones (D-Ala.), the legislation would provide patients and providers with a clear and transparent appeals process when they are subject to step therapy protocols instituted by health plans.

On May 28, the CNS and the AANS released their 2019 legislative and regulatory agenda, which includes priorities such as prior authorization reform, expanding support for graduate medical education, fixing the broken medical liability system and alleviating the burdens of electronic health records.

Restricting abusive prior authorization tactics is a top issue for organized neurosurgery, as such the AANS and CNS are leading an advocacy effort to reduce the burdens of prior authorization practices for Medicare Advantage (MA) and other health plans.

Dr. Hunt Batjer Speaks at Rep. Roe’s IPAB Press Conference