How the AAOS Office of Government Relations (OGR) is working for you …

• Conveyed AAOS’ support for the House and Senate versions of the Medicare Care Coordination Improvement Act of 2019. The legislation would substantially improve care coordination for patients, improve health outcomes, and restrain costs by reforming the Stark Law for alternative payment models.
• Urged the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to delay the Medicare Appropriate Use Criteria (AUC) Program education and operations period and instead continue voluntary participation through at least 2020. AAOS is ultimately seeking a legislative fix to the provision because requiring healthcare professionals to participate in a stand-alone AUC reporting program in addition to the activities of the Quality Payment Program would be burdensome, duplicative, and costly.
• Advocated for the preservation of access to osteoporosis testing for Medicare beneficiaries and support of legislation that would create a floor reimbursement rate under Medicare for the dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry test administered in a doctor’s office. Appropriate reimbursement for the tests is necessary to maintain patient access, particularly in rural and underserved areas.

For more information on all AAOS advocacy efforts, visit www.aaos.org/dc.

Follow the OGR on Twitter at www.twitter.com/AAOSAdvocacy.