capitol hill report: CONGRESS ADDRESSING AAN PRIORITIES

April 11, 2022

Latest Advocacy News

On April 7, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the final National Coverage Determination (NCD) for aducanumab and other monoclonal antibodies (mAb) directed against amyloid for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. The AAN’s advocacy had a substantial impact and is reflected in key changes to the final NCD, as well as CMS’ extensive citation of the AAN throughout. Key changes include: a modification so that trials are not solely limited to the hospital outpatient setting, a commitment from CMS to quickly reconsider the NCD if a mAb product has answered the CED questions with quality evidence, and deference to CED investigators in determining key elements of study design. Read the AAN’s full summary of the NCD.
On April 4, the AAN submitted a letter to CMS conveying key concerns and providing recommendations relating to changes to split (or shared) billing policy set to go into effect in 2023. The AAN believes that if implemented, the changes would have a chilling effect on physician-led team-based care. In the letter, we argued that both time and medical decision making (MDM) should be allowed to be used to determine the billing practitioner and offered recommendations relating to determining the substantive portion of MDM for the purposes of billing.
The Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General released a new report examining the use of telehealth services in Medicare during the first year of the pandemic, declaring that telehealth was critical during this time period for Medicare beneficiaries.

Issue in Focus

Thank you for the strong outpouring of feedback and support during this year’s Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Neurology in Seattle. Advocacy leaders led courses throughout the week to share how the AAN is advocating for you—and to hear critical feedback about challenges facing neurology practices across the county. Additionally, AAN members contributed over $65,000 to the AAN’s political action committee BrainPAC, the highest figure in four years. This infusion of feedback and resources is well-timed, as Congress has been extremely active already in 2022 on the AAN’s priorities, including:

Key Physician Mental Health Bill Passes: The Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act, which establishes grants and requires other activities to improve mental and behavioral health among health care providers, was signed into law by President Biden on March 18.
Regulatory Relief: The AAN helped secure the support of a majority of representatives for legislation to reform prior authorization in Medicare Advantage.
Addressing High Drug Costs: The Academy published an op-ed in a national publication highlighting AAN’s support for lowering drug costs.
Health Care Workforce Hearings: Two congressional hearings focused on strengthening the health care workforce and the role of international physicians on the health care workforce. The AAN submitted a statement for the record and met with legislative staff leading up to the hearings.
Telehealth: Congress extended Medicare telehealth flexibilities for 151 days following the end of the public health emergency (PHE).
Government Funding: Congress enacted historic levels of funding for federal medical research for fiscal year 2022, including significant increases to the National Institutes of Health and the BRAIN Initiative, and increased interest in the AAN-supported ARPA-H.
Extensive Feedback to Republican Leadership: The AAN submitted comments for the GOP Healthy Future Task Force request for information. The eight-page document highlighted a majority of AAN priorities and will be used by Republican leadership.
Veterans: Thanks to persistent advocacy by the AAN, Congress urged the Department of Veterans Affairs to “increase its investment to maintain and expand existing centers of excellence within VA dedicated to neurological conditions.”

For a comprehensive summary of recent AAN advocacy success, learn more.

What We're Reading

Inside a Campaign to Get Medicare Coverage for a New Alzheimer’s Drug (New York Times)
U.S. FDA panel votes against Amylyx's ALS drug over trial data concerns (Reuters)
Biden administration ramps up long COVID research efforts following criticism (STAT News)
CDC, under fire for COVID response, announces plans to revamp agency (Washington Post)