The North American Spine Society has been very active over the past few years in Washington, D.C., advocating for high quality spine care. The organization has an office in the nation's capitol where NASS physicians and representatives regularly meet with congressmen and senators to convey our viewpoints on various health policy issues, and to continue to advocate for high quality healthcare for their patients. NASS partners with the Alliance of Specialty Medicine, a coalition of specialty care providers in Washington, D.C., for some initiatives while working independently on others.
Raj Rao, MD, chair of the NASS Advocacy Committee and vice chairman of the department of orthopedic surgery at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, discusses the top issues NASS surgeons are tacking in Washington, D.C. "We have been strongly working on improving the quality of care that is provided for all citizens," says Dr. Rao.
1. Sustainable Growth Rate formula. NASS advocacy efforts are focused on replacing the sustainable growth rate formula, which Dr. Rao says is the group's number one issue. "There's a broad consensus on both sides of the aisle in Congress that the sustainable growth rate formula does not adequately represent the expenses incurred in providing high quality care and the system needs to be replaced," he says. Healthcare costs are increasing annually, but what most people don't realize is that the bulk of the expenses are not coming from physicians, he says. "Physicians and specialty physicians have seen reimbursements decline over the past few years. Ideally, any system that replaces SGR would update the physician's reimbursement based on the Medicare economic index."
The payments Medicare makes to physicians are included inside Medicare Part B. One of the major problems spine surgeon advocates have in Washington, D.C., is that when Medicare Part B expenses go up, congressmen assume the increase is due to increased physician payments. "In actuality, the Medicare Part B expenses encompass a variety of expenditures," says Dr. Rao.
2. Meaningful medical liability reform. Spine surgeon advocates are asking representatives from their states to enact strong medical liability reform. While there have been state based trials exploring the impact of medical liability reform, the progress is too slow. "We believe liability reform improves our patient's access to high quality care," says Dr. Rao. "Enacting real liability reform will also decrease healthcare costs nationally." Reforming the medical liability environment will reduce the enormous costs of defensive medicine.
3. Independent Advisory Board. Dr. Rao and NASS advocates are also pushing congressional representatives to repeal the Independent Advisory Board, which was created as part of the healthcare reform law. The Independent Advisory Board essentially creates protocols for healthcare professionals to follow when diagnosing and treating patients. "We don't think that important healthcare decisions should be made by the Independent Advisory Board, which is made up of people who have little or no clinical expertise," says Dr. Rao.
Learn more about NASS advocacy.
Read other coverage on spine surgery news:
- Spine Surgery Research: 3 Areas of Focus
- Spine Surgery in 2011 and Beyond: 7 Points About the Future of Spine Surgery
- ISASS President Dr. Thomas Errico: Spinal Fusion Coverage Update
Raj Rao, MD, chair of the NASS Advocacy Committee and vice chairman of the department of orthopedic surgery at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, discusses the top issues NASS surgeons are tacking in Washington, D.C. "We have been strongly working on improving the quality of care that is provided for all citizens," says Dr. Rao.
1. Sustainable Growth Rate formula. NASS advocacy efforts are focused on replacing the sustainable growth rate formula, which Dr. Rao says is the group's number one issue. "There's a broad consensus on both sides of the aisle in Congress that the sustainable growth rate formula does not adequately represent the expenses incurred in providing high quality care and the system needs to be replaced," he says. Healthcare costs are increasing annually, but what most people don't realize is that the bulk of the expenses are not coming from physicians, he says. "Physicians and specialty physicians have seen reimbursements decline over the past few years. Ideally, any system that replaces SGR would update the physician's reimbursement based on the Medicare economic index."
The payments Medicare makes to physicians are included inside Medicare Part B. One of the major problems spine surgeon advocates have in Washington, D.C., is that when Medicare Part B expenses go up, congressmen assume the increase is due to increased physician payments. "In actuality, the Medicare Part B expenses encompass a variety of expenditures," says Dr. Rao.
2. Meaningful medical liability reform. Spine surgeon advocates are asking representatives from their states to enact strong medical liability reform. While there have been state based trials exploring the impact of medical liability reform, the progress is too slow. "We believe liability reform improves our patient's access to high quality care," says Dr. Rao. "Enacting real liability reform will also decrease healthcare costs nationally." Reforming the medical liability environment will reduce the enormous costs of defensive medicine.
3. Independent Advisory Board. Dr. Rao and NASS advocates are also pushing congressional representatives to repeal the Independent Advisory Board, which was created as part of the healthcare reform law. The Independent Advisory Board essentially creates protocols for healthcare professionals to follow when diagnosing and treating patients. "We don't think that important healthcare decisions should be made by the Independent Advisory Board, which is made up of people who have little or no clinical expertise," says Dr. Rao.
Learn more about NASS advocacy.
Read other coverage on spine surgery news:
- Spine Surgery Research: 3 Areas of Focus
- Spine Surgery in 2011 and Beyond: 7 Points About the Future of Spine Surgery
- ISASS President Dr. Thomas Errico: Spinal Fusion Coverage Update