Congress Moving Forward on Legislation

Elizabeth Fassbender

Already this year, the 114th Congress has introduced a number of pieces of legislation important to orthopaedics. In addition to addressing a permanent solution to the sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula, Congress is also seeking consensus on several other key issues. Independent Payment Advisory Board Both the House and the Senate have introduced legislation to repeal the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB).

Supreme Court to Determine ACA’s Future

Elizabeth Fassbender

On March 4, 2015, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) heard arguments in the case of King v. Burwell, which could threaten the future of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Specifically, the Justices will be deciding the meaning of a section of the statute that stipulates subsidies are available through an exchange “established by the State.”

Snow, Shutdown Don’t Stop Research Advocacy Efforts

Erin Lynn Ransford

March 5, 2015, should have been the day that 27 physicians and researchers and 18 orthopaedic patients met with members of Congress on Capitol Hill to discuss the need for increased musculoskeletal research funding. Mother Nature, however, had other plans. After a wintry storm dumped several inches of rain, snow, and ice in the Washington, D.C.

John T. Gill, MD, Takes Leadership of the Orthopaedic PAC

Kristin Brackemyre

Advocacy involvement has become second nature for John T. Gill, MD, who assumed the chairmanship of the Orthopaedic Political Action Committee (PAC) during the AAOS Annual Meeting. Dr. Gill’s passion for advocacy has led him to hold numerous advocacy roles within the AAOS, as well as within the American Medical Association (AMA) and on the state level through the Texas Orthopaedic Association (TOA).

Marjoua, Moon Selected as 2015 Washington Health Policy Fellows

The Washington Health Policy Fellows Selection Committee has chosen Youssra Marjoua, MD, MPP, and Daniel K. Moon, MD, MS, MBA, as the 2015 Washington Health Policy Fellows. Dr. Marjoua graduated from Yale University School of Medicine and is a PGY-5 orthopaedic surgery resident at the Harvard Combined Orthopaedic Residency Program in Boston. She has pursued her interest in health policy through graduate training at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.

Consolidation Trends in Health Systems, Hospitals, and Payers

Alexandra E. Page, MD

The last wave of hospital consolidations occurred in the 1990s as a response to changing healthcare markets in the wake of managed care. Although the rationale for consolidation was to build volume and control costs, that era of mergers led to higher prices with no demonstrable benefit.