AAO-HNS/F 2021 Leadership Forum & BOG Spring Meeting Advocacy Program

The Academy’s Board of Governors (BOG), led by Chair Lance A. Manning, MD, hosted its first virtual AAO-HNS/F Leadership Forum & BOG Spring Meeting on April 17. Hundreds of Academy members came together to participate in a diverse advocacy-focused program. The event provided an opportunity for leadership discussions and sharing of practice management tools for seasoned AAO-HNS member advocates, young physicians, residents, and others looking to become more involved in the BOG and Academy advocacy efforts. The day consisted of interactive sessions led by BOG leaders and subject-matter experts. 

The event featured federal health policy and legislative updates from Congressional guests including, Congressman Larry Bucshon, MD (R-IN), and Wendell Primus, PhD, Senior Policy Advisor on Budget and Health to Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA); a keynote address from Susan Bailey, MD, President of the American Medical Association; and a presentation on Reimbursement Advocacy and 2021 Coding Updates by AAO-HNS Advocacy Coordinator, R. Peter Manes, MD. AAO-HNS Congressional Advocacy staff spoke to participants about the Academy’s 2021 federal legislative and regulatory priorities, including: 

• Working with our champions in Congress to improve the Medicare physician payment system by providing an inflationary payment update, revisiting budget-neutrality requirements, and maintaining the 10- and 90-day global surgery payment package
• Protecting patient safety by fighting scope-of-practice efforts by certain advanced practice providers, including audiologists—ensuring audiologists are not granted inappropriate access to Medicare patients without a physician referral
• Streamlining and standardizing insurers’ increased use of prior authorization 
• Advocating for a restructuring of Medicare’s quality improvement program to minimize its complexity, streamline and reduce reporting burdens, and promote specialty-specific quality measures, clinical data registries, and alternative payment models developed by clinicians

The Academy is actively advocating on these important issues in the 117th Congress to protect the specialty and the patients our members treat. 

We thank the AAO-HNS/F 2021 Leadership Forum & BOG Spring Meeting attendees for collective efforts to advance the Academy’s 2021 advocacy priorities and programs. We stand ready to work with our members to promote this comprehensive agenda and look forward to continuing these critical advocacy discussions in person in Los Angeles, California, at the AAO-HNSF 2021 Annual Meeting & OTO Experience in October. Please email the AAO-HNS Legislative Advocacy team at govtaffairs@entnet.org with questions or suggestions.