AANEM Advocacy News Express

Congressional Update for AANEM Members – July 2015

    7/28/2015
Legislators on Capitol Hill worked to advance a number of key legislative priorities so that they could be well-positioned to finalize high-profile items before the end of the year. Most notably, both the House and Senate Appropriations Committees approved their chambers’ respective FY 2016 Labor-Health and Human-Services-Education (LHHS) Appropriations Bills.

The ACA Survives Legal Challenge

    6/30/2015
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) survived its second major legal challenge this past week when the U.S. Supreme Court upheld health insurance tax-credit subsidies for low-income Americans in every state. In the concluding paragraph of the majority’s opinion, Justice Roberts wrote, “Congress passed the Affordable Care Act to improve health insurance markets, not to destroy them. If at all possible, we must interpret the Act in a way that is consistent with the former, and avoids the latter.” 

Recap: 2015 AMA House of Delegates Annual Meeting

    6/30/2015
At the American Medical Association (AMA) House of Delegates (HOD) annual meeting in Chicago, important issues reviewed included: banning non-medical exemptions for immunizations, opposition to Medicare’s three-day hospital stay rule, encouraging physician involvement in the development of MOC/MOL requirements, and requesting a two-year grace period for ICD-10.

AANEM Hires Medical Lobbying Firm

    6/2/2015
At its spring meeting in early May, the AANEM Board of Directors approved the hiring of the Health and Medicine Counsel of Washington (HMCW). Current AANEM President, Vince Tranchitella, MD, explained, “AANEM leaders felt that hiring a medical lobbying firm to help us navigate the political landscape will ensure that we have input in future healthcare changes.”  

Action Alert: Ask Your U.S. Senators to Join the NIH Caucus

    6/2/2015
Key Senators would like to put the National Institutes of Health (NIH) back on a path of stable, noteworthy growth. Appropriators Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Richard Durbin (D-IL) have formed an NIH Caucus in the Senate to fight for both immediate and long-term funding increases. To ensure your Senators join the NIH Caucus and work to increase NIH funding, please reach out to their offices and ask for their support.

SGR Repeal Bill Sails Through Both Houses of Congress

    4/21/2015
Both the U.S. House of Representatives (393-37) and the U.S. Senate (92-8) voted overwhelmingly to pass H.R. 2, the “Medicare Access and Chip Reauthorization Act” or MACRA, repealing and replacing the sustainable growth-rate (SGR).

SGR Repeal: Update and Action Alert

    4/7/2015
The U.S. House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly in favor of repealing and replacing the sustainable growth-rate (SGR) on March 27 with a vote of 392-37. It was immediately sent to the Senate. Now, AANEM needs your help! 

Mobile EDX Labs Provide Substandard Patient Care

    3/24/2015
AANEM’s Professional Practice Committee released a new position statement on mobile diagnostic laboratories this week, stating, “Many mobile diagnostic lab testing companies offer substandard electrodiagnostic services.”

SGR Repeal: A Real Possibility?

    3/24/2015
Could this be the year that a permanent fix to Medicare’s Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) payment scheme finally passes? It looks like it could be.

Another Temporary Patch Expected

    3/10/2015
The seemingly perpetual battle over Medicare payments to physicians based on the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) is set to take center stage on Capitol Hill later this month. Once again, it appears that Congress will pass yet another temporary patch.