Patient Stories Personalize the Need for Research Funding

Erin Lynn Ransford; Stephanie Hazlett

Nearly one in every three Americans has a musculoskeletal condition requiring medical attention. On April 14, orthopaedic surgeons, patients, and researchers visited Capitol Hill to raise awareness about these debilitating and costly diseases and disorders to emphasize the need for research funding. Advocacy teams urged Congress to appropriate $34.

Health Insurance Mergers May Fundamentally Change Market

Manthan Bhatt

Recently proposed mergers between the healthcare giants Anthem/Cigna and Aetna/Humana would reduce the number of national health insurance providers from five to just three, spurring questions about the potential effects of reduced competition. In response, a great deal of attention has focused on whether the U.S.

Second Look – Advocacy

According to Kaiser Health News, three health systems have recently agreed to the "Volume Pledge," which is designed to prevent certain surgical procedures from being performed by surgeons who perform relatively few such procedures, or at hospitals where few such procedures are performed.

More about PQRS 2016: What You Need to Know

Warren Dunn, MD, MPH; Jackie Ryan, MPA

As we move through the final year of the Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS) in 2016, some physicians may be looking forward to saying goodbye to this program forever. Those sentiments may be a bit premature. Although the PQRS program in its current form will be ending, PQRS will continue as part of the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS). (See cover story, "CMS Releases MACRA Proposed Rule).

CMS Releases MACRA Proposed Rule

Elizabeth Fassbender

On April 27, 2016, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released a proposed rule detailing, for the first time, the physician reimbursement framework required by the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) of 2015. MACRA, which replaced the flawed Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula, created a new program for physician reimbursement that streamlines quality programs and addresses reporting burdens.

Building Bridges: AAOS Supports Advocacy in Brazil

Amanda Decker

Facing serious challenges, including the transfer of physician certification from medical societies to the Ministry of Health, the Brazilian Society of Orthopaedics and Traumatology (Sociedade Brasileira de Ortopedia e Traumatologia, or SBOT) recently reorganized its Public Health Policy Commission. In addition, a rapidly aging population is creating shifting healthcare needs for the Brazilian community.