capitol hill report: AAN ADDRESSES NATIONAL, STATE HEALTH CARE ISSUES
February 20, 2023
Latest Advocacy News
- On February 15, the AAN met with the US Government Accountability Office to provide recommendations pertaining to ongoing challenges associated with using cognitive assessment and care planning services. Our goal is to reduce the burdens faced by providers and improve patient access to these critical services.
- On February 9, the AAN met with key advisors to the secretary of Health and Human Services to provide critical feedback relating to coverage limitations placed on monoclonal antibody treatments for Alzheimer’s disease. The AAN recently submitted feedback to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services urging the agency to reconsider the current National Coverage Determination as it pertains to lecanemab.
Issue in Focus
State legislatures across the country are off and running with their 2023 legislative sessions. The AAN’s state affairs team is actively tracking bills in all 50 states, with oversight from the AAN’s Advocacy Committee. During a given year, more than 100,000 bills are introduced at the state level. With this much volume, the Academy focuses on scope of practice and telehealth as our top priorities.
AAN members also are advocating for their patients and neurology at local levels, meeting with their state representatives. In Georgia, one member took her advocacy work right to the state capitol. Uma Menon, MD, MBA, FAAN, from Morehouse School of Medicine, was featured as the “doctor of the day,” where she actually served as the doctor at the capitol. In doing so, she was able to address the chamber and even met with Gov. Brian Kemp to highlight the critical importance of neurology in our health care system. If you’d like to get more involved in state advocacy, email advocacy@aan.com to get started.
What We're Reading
- Armed with Hashtags, These Activists Made Insulin Prices a Presidential Talking Point (KHN)
- ChatGPT-assisted diagnosis: Is the future suddenly here? (Op-Ed STAT)
- Updated: FDA adds warning of 'larger areas of bleeding' in brain to Biogen's Aduhelm label (End Points News)