AANEM Advocacy News Express

Healthcare Reform: Update from Capitol Hill

    10/9/2017
Congress returned to Capitol Hill shortly after Labor Day facing a growing list of critical and timely issues to address. Much of the work in the Senate though was dedicated to efforts to pass legislation to “repeal and replace” the Affordable Care Act before the threshold for votes increased from a simple majority to 60 after the October 1 start of the Fiscal Year. 

Why Not Lobby ABEM Certification Instead of Laboratory Accreditation

    8/3/2017

House Continues its Support of AANEM Efforts in EDX Medicine

    7/26/2017
On Wednesday, July 19, 2017, the House Appropriations Committee approved its Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 Labor-Health and Human Services-Education (L-HHS) Appropriations Bill. In response to continued advocacy efforts by AANEM, the bill contains report language indicating the U.S. House’s ongoing interest in ensuring patient access to quality EDX medicine.

House Passes American Health Care Act

    5/16/2017
On Thursday, May 4, the House of Representatives passed the American Health Care Act (H.R. 1628), which repeals and replaces the Affordable Care Act (ACA), or “Obamacare.” Read more for an overview of key provisions from H.R. 1628. 

AANEM Returns to Capitol Hill to Promote Quality EDX Testing

    5/16/2017
On Monday, May 8, AANEM State Liaisons traveled to Capitol Hill to educate Senators and Representatives about electrodiagnostic (EDX) medicine and the contemporary challenges facing the patient and professional community. During the event, advocates presented Congressman Pete Sessions (R-TX) with a 2017 Distinguished Public Service Award for his bipartisan work to raise the issue of questionable billing and the need for quality standards in EDX medicine with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

Advocacy Update From Capitol Hill

    4/19/2017
In March 2016, the Trump administration released an abridged version of their nonbinding Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 Budget Request to Congress. One of the lone bright spots for public health programs in the administration’s budget request is the recommendation of an additional $70 million for efforts to eliminate fraud and abuse at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) with an emphasis on moving away from the “pay-and-chase” model and instead preventing improper payments.

AANEM Represented at National Physicians’ Council for Healthcare Policy Meeting

    3/22/2017
AANEM member and Advocacy Advisor, Peter Grant, MD, and AANEM Health Policy Director, Millie Suk, JD, MPP, attended the spring meeting of the National Physicians’ Council for Healthcare Policy (NPCHCP) in Washington, D.C. on March 19-20.  Dr. Grant serves as a Vice Chair of the NPCHCP. The focus of the meeting was wide-ranging, looking at ways to reform MACRA to preserve private and rural practice in the current legislative efforts to restructure America’s health care system.

Republicans Release ACA Replacement Plan

    3/8/2017
On March 6, 2017, the House Republican leadership released its Affordable Care Act (ACA) repeal and replacement bills, collectively titled the “American Health Care Act”. President Donald Trump backed the bill the following day, noting that it is open to negotiation.