Do you know the aan's 2023 advocacy priority issues?
April 24, 2023
Latest Advocacy News
- On April 14, the AAN submitted comments in response to a request for information from the National Institutes of Health on a plan to require immediate public access to research that has received NIH funding. This proposed plan stems from a memorandum that came out of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy in 2022 that directed relevant agencies to establish new policies to ensure free, immediate, and equitable access to federally funded research. The AAN’s comments raise critical concerns relating to how implementation of the Public Access Plan would impact equitable access to publication for researchers and the long-term sustainability of journal operations.
- Reps. Raul Ruiz (D-CA), Larry Bucshon (R-IN), Ami Bera (D-CA), and Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA) introduced the Strengthening Medicare for Patients and Providers Act, H.R. 2474, legislation that would provide an inflationary update to Medicare physician payments. AAN advocacy was an instrumental part in this successful step forward. Introduction of legislation addressing an inflationary update was a priority ask at Neurology on the Hill. Watch for an Action Alert in your email and tell your legislators to cosponsor this important legislation!
Issue in Focus
Each year, the Advocacy Committee sets the AAN's advocacy priority issues. The committee takes input from the annual advocacy priorities survey and the political environment to identify three categories of issue priorities: top, active, and monitoring. The AAN uses this as a guide to advocate for members and their patients. These priorities influence actions including comment letters, discussion with policymakers, setting NOH priorities, and joining coalitions, among others.
Using the 2022 Advocacy Priorities Survey, filled out by almost 700 members, the Advocacy Committee identified the following for 2023:
Top Priorities:
- Access to Care (includes telehealth, drug costs, and access)
- Reducing Regulatory and Administrative Burdens (includes prior authorization and step therapy)
- Neurology Workforce (includes reimbursement, wellness, and immigration)
Active Priorities:
- Brain Health
- Neuroscience Research and Funding
- Scope of Practice
- COVID-19 Response
- Health Equity
- Other Active Issues (EHR interoperability, AAN Principles for Health Care Delivery, funding and implementation of National Neurologic Disease Surveillance System, Funding for VA Centers of Excellence)
Monitoring Priorities:
- Cannabis Research
- Concussion and Traumatic Brain Injury
- MACRA & QPP Implementation
- Medical Liability Reform
- Opioids and Pain Research
- Other Monitoring Issues (gun safety, narrow networks, surprise billing, neuroimaging, psychedelic drugs)
If you’d like to know more about the AAN’s priority issues, advocacy efforts, or learn how BrainPAC supports these issues, stop by the policy and BrainPAC booths at this week’s Annual Meeting in Boston!
What We're Reading
- We’re Not Ready to Be Diagnosed by ChatGPT (Op-Ed, Bloomberg)
- About 800,000 nurses planning to leave the profession by 2027, data show (Fierce Healthcare)
- Parkinson’s Biomarker Shows High Accuracy (Medpage Today)