AAOS Urges Action on Meaningful Use, 21st Century Cures Legislation
For questions or concerns on these or other advocacy issues, contact the Office of Government Relations at dc@aaos.org.
 
AAOS Requests CMS Finalize 90-Day Reporting Period for Meaningful Use In a letter to the acting administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS), American Medical Association, and 19 other organizations requested the agency expeditiously move from full-year reporting to a 90-day reporting period for the 2016 meaningful use program. Click here to read more.
Want to Run for Office? Register for the AAOS Candidate Workshop On September 30-October 1, 2016, AAOS is hosting the 7th Annual Specialty Physician and Dental Candidate Workshop with a number of other physician organizations. This one-day course is perfect for orthopaedic surgeons who are thinking of running for any office, from school board or city council to the U.S Congress. Attendees will learn from the experts about fundraising, building support, using the media, and much more. Click here to read more.
Surgeon General Writes to Physicians on Opioid Epidemic U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy recently mailed letters to physicians across the U.S. urging them to address the opioid epidemic. Noting that “we arrived at this place on a path paved with good intentions,” Dr. Murthy wrote that opioid overdose deaths have quadrupled and opioid prescriptions have increased markedly since 1999. However, Dr. Murthy suggested that “as clinicians, we have the unique power to help end this epidemic.” Click here to read more.
Changes to CJR Webinar – Wednesday, August 31

On July 25, 2016, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released a new proposed rule which supplements the recent proposed Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA) rule. The proposed rule includes new cardiac care bundled payment models and incentives to increase cardiac rehabilitation usage, but also alters the Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement (CJR) bundled payment model to remove hip fracture procedures and creates new pathways for CJR and additional models to qualify as Advanced Alternative Payment Models (APMs). Read more in Advocacy Now online here.

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What We’re Reading
MDUFA Reauthorization Updates The Federal Drug Administration (FDA) hosted a series of meetings regarding the reauthorization of the Medical Device User Fee Amendments (MDUFA) IV over the past year.  During these meetings, participants heard updates on the FDA-Industry negotiations and provided their suggestions for improving the program.  Click here to read more.
Election 2016 Graphic of the Week

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AAOS Thanks Ryan for 21st Century Cures Support On August 11, 2016, AAOS joined a number of other medical specialty societies in thanking Speaker of the House Paul Ryan for his commitment to move a compromise 21st Century Cures bill in the fall. According to the letter, the ultimate goal of both the House and the Senate bills is to accelerate innovation, boost research, streamline drug and device approvals, and enhance health information technology (HIT) interoperability. “We believe these things individually and combined will ultimately improve patient care and improve outcomes,” the letter states. “They will also increase the quality, safety, and efficiency of health care delivery.” Click here to read more.
ICD-10 Grace Period Ending The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently updated a FAQ on requirements related to the ICD-10 transition, reminding physicians that the flexibility program, announced July 2015, is ending October 1.

CMS announced the flexibility program last year after pressure from AAOS and other organizations. The flexibility period ensured that doctors would not be penalized with claims denials or quality-reporting penalties as long as they select a diagnosis code from the right family of codes for the first year of implementation.

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New for 2016: Advisor’s Circle Orthopaedic PAC is proud to announce a new program specifically designed for group practices, called the Advisor’s Circle. If your group practice is looking to become more involved in the political advocacy arena, or for more sophisticated opportunities, the Advisor’s Circle offers just this. We have created a tiered benefits structure that offers unique activities that will exponentially increase your partners’, your practice’s, your patients’ and your own political reach. Benefits vary, from attending the convention, and Congressional Fundraising retreats; to legislative fly-in assistance and in-District training and PAC checks; even a leadership role in bringing forth priority issues to the PAC Executive Committee. The Advisor’s Circle has a broad array of benefits that are completely separate from our individual donor benefits. To schedule a one on one meeting to learn more about the Advisor’s Circle and a free assessment of your group’s needs email Stacie Monroe at monroe@aaos.org.