Sound Off: Why Advocacy?

Ryan M. Eggers, MD, MA

"When I was a resident, they actually made us work," laughed my mentor as he greeted me at the National Orthopaedic Leadership Conference (NOLC) in Washington, D.C. It was the second national meeting in as many months where I had chanced to run into him. I was attending in my capacity as a member of the executive committee of the Resident Assembly—part of the governing structure of AAOS.

NOLC Makes a Stand on Capitol Hill

Elizabeth Fassbender

More than 300 orthopaedic surgeons from around the country took to Capitol Hill on Thursday, April 27, to meet with their congressional representatives as part of the American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) National Orthopaedic Leadership Conference (NOLC).

CMS Releases Proposed Rule for Quality Payment Program Year 2

Elizabeth Fassbender

On June 21, 2017, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released a proposed rule that includes participation requirements for the second year of the Quality Payment Program. The Quality Payment Program—which replaces the flawed Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula as required by the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) of 2015—includes two tracks: the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) and Advanced Alternative Payment Models (Advanced APMs).

Evidenced-based Advocacy: The Argument for POHs

Nicholas A. Bonazza, MD

One of the less-discussed provisions of the Affordable Care Act is the ban on the expansion of existing physician-owned hospitals (POHs) and the formation of new ones. The ban was founded on concerns about physician self-referrals and possible conflicts of interest. Similar concerns led to the passage of the Stark Act in 1989, which prevented self-referral of Medicare patients.

Second Look – Advocacy

These items originally appeared in AAOS Headline News Now, a thrice-weekly enewsletter that keeps AAOS members up to date on clinical, socioeconomic, and political issues, with links to more detailed information. Subscribe at www.aaos.org/news/news.asp (member login required). An article in Modern Healthcare looks at the issue of ransomware attacks on the healthcare system.