From time to time you will see us promote items on Neurosurgery Blog in order to spotlight some great things which are born out of the many members who work on behalf of organized neurosurgery. For our post today we would like to bring your attention to the following article which originally appeared in the AANS/CNS Spine Section Autumn Newsletter: Spine Section’s Rapid Response Committee Continues to Address Multiple Insurer Policy Issues
Insurance companies and other payers for healthcare often change protocols over what services will be covered under a given insurance policy. These policies have the potential to affect patient care, by denying coverage for some treatment options. By denying coverage, physician’s treatment options may be limited – despite the fact that such options may in fact be best for the patient. Dr. Joseph Cheng, a leading neurosurgeon at Vanderbilt University and chair of the AANS/CNS Spine Section, developed the Rapid Response Team to answer these concerns and to provide a working group to rapidly respond to insurance industry policy proposals. In recent months, the Rapid Response Team has engaged with multiple insurer policy issues, click here to read about them in more detail.
Patients who have neurosurgical disorders deserve to have access to the full range of treatment options available to them, and the AANS and CNS are committed to taking on the health insurance companies, Medicare and Medicaid when they issue policies that will prevent patients from getting access to the care they need, when they need it.
