Annual Meeting Recap, Health Reform Task Force, Opioid Votes, and More
For questions or concerns on these or other advocacy issues, contact the Office of Government Relations at dc@aaos.org.
Annual Meeting Symposium: Payment Models in Orthopaedics
CJR Program Starting April 1
With the Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement (CJR) program set to start April 1, 2016, a 2016 Annual Meeting symposium on “Bundled and Emerging Payment Models in Orthopaedics” provided a unique opportunity to evaluate current programs and discuss impending changes in reimbursement. At the Orlando meeting, the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) immediate Past-President David Teuscher, MD, gave an overview of the issues involved and Kevin Bozic, MD, MBA, moderated a panel of speakers that touched on everything from keys to success to staying out of trouble with gainsharing.
On Wednesday, March 2, 2016, former governor Rick Perry spoke to supporters of the Orthopaedic Political Action Committee (PAC) during the annual PAC luncheon at the 2016 AAOS Annual Meeting. Mr. Perry, who served as the 47th governor of Texas from 2000 to 2015, was a candidate for the Republican nomination in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. He also served as chairman of the Republican Governors Association and had been outspoken on issues related to health care and tort reform. In addition to discussing issues like federalism, Mr. Perry reminded PAC supporters of the importance of being involved in the political process and that their engagement in the PAC is integrally important to the future of the practice of medicine.
On March 10, 2016, the Senate passed legislation by a vote of 94-1 aimed at combating the growing heroin and prescription drug epidemic. The Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA), introduced by Sens. Rob Portman (R-OH) and Kelly Ayotte (R-H) as well as Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), would:
Expand prevention and educational efforts—particularly aimed at teens, parents and other caretakers, and aging populations—to prevent the abuse of opioids and heroin and to promote treatment and recovery.
Expand the availability of naloxone to law enforcement agencies and other first responders to help in the reversal of overdoses to save lives.
Expand resources to identify and treat incarcerated individuals suffering from addiction disorders promptly by collaborating with criminal justice stakeholders and by providing evidence-based treatment.
Task Force on Health Care Reform Releases Mission Statement
Last month, the Task Force on Health Care Reform – organized by House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) in early 2016 – announced their mission statement, laying out goals for development of a “bold, pro-growth agenda,” which has been a major priority for the Republican constituency. The four committee chairman selected for the task force include Budget Committee Chairman Tom Price (R-GA), Education & the Workforce Committee Chairman John Kline (R-MN), Energy & Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI), and Ways & Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX). According to the recent announcement, the agenda will focus on modernizing American health care with “patient-centered solutions that improve access, choice, and quality, lower costs, promote innovation, and strengthen the safety net for the most vulnerable.”
February 25th, 2016 marked the one-year anniversary of the White House’s Precision Medicine Initiative. This initiative, which was proposed by President Obama with significant GOP support, seeks to revolutionize the way that health care is practiced and delivered. The premise of this initiative is to provide individualized treatment plans, based on an individual’s genetics, health history and lifestyle choices, rather than the standard treatment options. In turn, the hope is that this innovative approach to health care will lower medical spending costs and ultimately find cures to diseases that are not fully understood.
On Wednesday, March 2, 2016, AAOS members at the Annual Meeting were invited to attend a symposium titled, “Risk Evaluation and Management Strategies for Prescribing Opioids.” The symposium was moderated by the former chair of the Medical Liability Committee, Thomas Fleeter, MD, and included three panelists. The discussion was centered on the epidemic of opioid drug use, misuse, and abuse in the United States and focused on ways in which orthopaedic surgeons can practice safe and effective pain management for their patients.
2015 EHR “Meaningful Use” Hardship Exemption Information
Note: visit www.aaos.org/advocacy/HIT/ for all the latest updates on health information technology and meaningful use, including information on applying for a 2015 exemption.
In an effort to allow physicians to avoid a potential 3 percent meaningful use penalty in 2017, a law was passed by Congress that allows the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to consider hardship exceptions for categories of eligible professionals (EPs) and hospitals in a new, more streamlined process. Physician groups, including the American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS), lobbied for the legislation because the delayed release of modifications to the Stage 2 of the program left physicians with insufficient time to report under the modified requirements (read about the changes in an earlier Advocacy Now article here).
If you or your organization did not successfully meet meaningful use for an electronic health record (EHR) reporting period in 2015 and would like to apply for a hardship exception, the deadline is July 1, 2016.
AAOS welcomed Stacie Monroe to the Office of Government Relations (OGR) team on October 19. Stacie joins the OGR with a strong background in fundraising and expertise within the medical community. For the past nine years Stacie was with the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) as their Political Advocacy Director. Please drop Stacie an email with any PAC requests or questions at monroe@aaos.org or by phone (202) 548-4150.
The Orthopaedic PAC website features an online contribution center, which can accept contributions via credit card by visiting the site and using your AAOS login credentials. Credit card contributions can also be conveniently scheduled for a monthly, quarterly or yearly recurring donation.
Consider joining the Orthopaedic PAC with a monthly contribution of $25 or make a $1,000 contribution manageable through $250 quarterly contributions to qualify for the new “Capitol Club”. Visit www.aaos.org/pac and select Donate to the Orthopaedic PAC for more information or to contribute today.
Don’t remember when you last contributed? Log in to the contribution center today to view your complete donation history!
With the Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement (CJR) program set to start April 1, 2016, a 2016 Annual Meeting symposium on “Bundled and Emerging Payment Models in Orthopaedics” provided a unique opportunity to evaluate current programs and discuss impending changes in reimbursement. At the Orlando meeting, the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) immediate Past-President David Teuscher, MD, gave an overview of the issues involved and Kevin Bozic, MD, MBA, moderated a panel of speakers that touched on everything from keys to success to staying out of trouble with gainsharing.
On March 10, 2016, the Senate passed legislation by a vote of 94-1 aimed at combating the growing heroin and prescription drug epidemic. The Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA), introduced by Sens. Rob Portman (R-OH) and Kelly Ayotte (R-H) as well as Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), would:
Republicans: Obamacare Payments Break the Law
Note: visit 