Liaison Chair: Tiffany R. Hodges, MD

As an update to prior authorization reform legislation, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services published the second rule to improve the prior authorization process in Medicare Advantage, CHIP, Medicaid managed care and ACA-established Qualified Health Plans. This rule is being analyzed and compared to provisions of the Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act (H.R. 3173/S. 3018) to assign how well the final rule aligns with our signature legislation to improve prior authorization. Given the Congressional Budget Office’s previous cost estimate, some adjustments to the legislation may need to be made to lower the cost, getting it as close to zero as possible.

Moreover, the Washington Committee’s Firearms Task Force (WCFTF) provided an updated AANS/CNS Position Statement on Firearms and published a manuscript reflecting the WCFTF’s national survey of neurosurgeons, titled “Survey of United States neurosurgeons on firearm injury prevention” (Anderson MG, Anuar A, Tomei KL, Schwalb JM, Orrico KO, Sigounas D, Puffer RC, Bohl MA, Lonser RR, Martin JE. Survey of United States neurosurgeons on firearm injury prevention. J Neurosurg. 2023 Dec 22:1-11. doi: 10.3171/2023.11.JNS231961. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 38134420.). This manuscript is open access, so please take the time to read and share it with colleagues.

With a rapidly changing and challenging health care climate, the Washington Committee will remain steadfast in engaging our policymakers on the issues that affect neurosurgeons and our patients. Members of the AANS/CNS Tumor Section are encouraged to communicate with Tiffany R. Hodges, MD, who serves as your tumor section liaison to bring issues or concerns to our Washington Committee. You can stay informed on health care policy topics by subscribing to Neurosurgery Blog at www.neurosurgeryblog.org and following the Washington Committee on Twitter @neurosurgery. Finally, periodic updates are available via AANS and CNS publications and through presentations at neurosurgery meetings.