From time to time on Neurosurgery Blog, you will see us cross-posting or linking to items from other places that may interest our readers. Today’s post originally appeared in The Lincoln Journal Star, titled “When Insurance Fails.” In the op-ed, neurosurgeon Jeremy Hosein, MD, discusses the misuse of prior authorization, which delays care, prolongs suffering and adds significant administrative costs to health care. Read More
While 2020 is a year that most people want to forget, the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) and the Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS) made significant strides in accomplishing its legislative and regulatory agenda, thus ensuring that neurosurgical patients continue to have timely access to quality care. Following are some highlights of these advocacy efforts.
Congress Prevents Steep Medicare Cuts
On Jan. 1, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS) implemented the new CPT guidelines to report office and outpatient visits based on either medical decision making or physician time. These evaluation and management (E/M) services are valued in line with the AMA/Specialty Society RVS Update Committee (RUC) recommendations. Unfortunately, to comply with Medicare’s budget neutrality requirement, any increases must be offset by corresponding decreases, and CMS estimated that the 2021 policies would increase Medicare spending by approximately $10.6 billion. This necessitated significant cuts for many specialties, including an overall 6-7% payment cut for neurosurgery. Read More
“Real change, enduring change, happens one step at a time.”
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Associate Justice, U.S. Supreme Court
The economic, medical, political and psychological tsunami unleashed by the COVID-19 virus is unlike anything we have seen in our lifetime. The traumatic disruption of 9-11 was limited in comparison to our current crisis. While impossible to include up to the minute statistics, already more than 15 million cases have been confirmed with at least 620,000 deaths, and U.S. unemployment is approximately 11%. Is it possible that any good will come of these months of tragedy and lock-down? What do we know about the immediate and longer-term consequences on us as humans, on the health care community and neurosurgery? I have been given the monumental task of trying to peer into that future as the Neurosurgery Blog’s focus on COVID-19 draws to a close. Read More
Clemens M. Schirmer, MD, PhD, FAANS, FACS, FAHA Vice-Chair, AANS/CNS Communications and Public Relations Committee Geisinger Wilkes Barre, PA The Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA) is…
Ann R. Stroink, MD, CPE, FAANS Chair, AANS/CNS Washington Committee System Medical Director, Neurosciences Quality and Educational Program Development Senior Neurosurgeon CINHS Central Illinois Neuro Health Science Bloomington, IL …
Guest Post from Deborah L. Benzil, MD, FACS, FAANS Chair, AANS/CNS Communications and Public Relations Committee Vice Chair, Neurosurgery Cleveland Clinic Foundation Cleveland, OH Electronic Health Records (EHRs) danced into…
Guest post from Linda W. Xu, MD Neurosurgical Resident, Stanford University Hospital and Clinics Palo Alto, CA Online ratings fill the Internet, and it is almost impossible to avoid them….
Guest post from Katie O. Orrico, Esq. Director, Washington Office American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS) On April 27, 2016, the Centers for Medicare &…
From time to time on Neurosurgery Blog, you will see us cross-posting or linking to items from other publications or places when we believe they hit the mark on an…
Deborah L. Benzil, MD, FACS, FAANS, AANS (right) Chair, AANS/CNS Communications and Public Relations Committee Mount Kismo Medical Group Columbia University Medical Center Mt Kisco, New York and Rachel Groman,…
