Advocacy at the Annual Meeting, ACA Efforts Continue, and More
For questions or concerns on these or other advocacy issues, contact the Office of Government Relations at dc@aaos.org.
 
BREAKING: CMS announces delay of the Surgical Hip and Femur Fracture Treatment (SHFFT) model and other related provisions. Read the interim final rule here: https://s3.amazonaws.com/public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2017-05692.pdf and stay tuned for more information.
American Health Care Act Moves Forward The American Health Care Act (AHCA) got a boost last week from the House Budget Committee. The committee voted 19-17 to advance the bill, with three Republicans joining every Democrat in opposition. The Budget Committee vote was the last major hurdle for the contentious Affordable Care Act (ACA) repeal proposal before it is considered by the full House. Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-WI), after the budget vote, indicated that the bill will receive a full House vote next Thursday, despite continued opposition from many House conservatives. Lauding President Trump as “a great closer,” Speaker Ryan said White House efforts to negotiate with conservative blocs like the House Freedom Caucus are continuing.

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Joe Heck Speaks at PAC Luncheon  While Congress is in the middle of a heated debate on how to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA), former U.S. Rep. Joseph Heck, DO (R-Nev.) addressed members of the Orthopaedic Political Action Committee (PAC) at the annual PAC luncheon on Wednesday, March 15. Click here to read more.
Residents Honored at Annual Meeting Reception While at the AAOS Annual Meeting, six resident groups were honored by the Orthopaedic PAC at the Bay City Brewery for reaching 100 percent participation. Congratulations to the University of Maryland, the University of Kentucky, the University of Hawaii, the Universidad de Puerto Rico, the Cleveland Clinic, and Maimonides Medical Center! And thank you for everyone who attended and supported this event, we had a great group of AAOS leadership and resident attendance. Click here to read more.
Gottleib Nominated, Verma Confirmed Last week, Dr. Scott Gottlieb was selected by President Trump to head the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Gottlieb has held several positions at the FDA, serving as FDA Deputy Commissioner, as senior advisor to the FDA commissioner, and as the agency’s Director of Medical Policy Development. Importantly, reauthorizing drug and device user fee agreements this year will be an essential priority for the agency. Click here to read more.
Potential Changes to Bundled Payments Under Secretary Price? On March 15, 2017, Tom Barber, MD and Doug Lundy, MD answered questions related to the future of bundled payments from reporters at the AAOS Annual Meeting. Dr. Barber and Dr. Lundy are the outgoing and incoming chairs, respectively, of the AAOS Council on Advocacy and are experts on the changes to orthopaedics that are coming out of Washington, DC.

Specifically, Drs. Barber and Lundy discussed Medicare’s mandatory bundled payment models, including the Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement (CJR) model – which seeks to test bundled payment and quality measures for an episode of care associated with hip and knee replacements in 67 geographic areas – and a new surgical hip/femur fracture treatment model (SHFFT) that builds on the CJR model. As Drs. Barber and Lundy noted, recently-confirmed Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Tom Price, MD has criticized mandatory models like these, suggesting that the agency should limit these kinds of demonstrations so they represent true tests rather than wholesale changes to statute.

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