Stay ConnectedThe AAOS Now podcast is a monthly series that spotlights hotly debated issues and controversial trends in orthopaedic surgery. Each episode presents nuanced perspectives to inspire further discourse, inform your decision-making — and maybe even change your mind. Part of The Bone Beat Orthopaedic Podcast Channel.
Brought to you by the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and the American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons.
Copyright: © 2020-2023 American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons. All rights reserved.
This part one episode of a three-part series on the issues AAOS is raising during Orthopaedic Advocacy Week focuses on prior authorization reform. In interviews with the original co-sponsors of the “Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act,” we discuss how the bipartisan, bicameral legislation will help protect patients from unnecessary delays in care by streamlining and standardizing prior authorization in the Medicare Advantage program.
Host: Kristen Coultas, AAOS Advocacy Communications Director
AAOS President Daniel K. Guy, MD, FAAOS, extends a special invitation for members to participate in Orthopaedic Advocacy Week May 24-28, 2021. He explains how the new, completely virtual event is different from previous advocacy opportunities, what issues orthopaedic surgeons will raise with lawmakers, and why individual participation is “paramount” for amplifying year-long advocacy efforts on healthcare policy issues impacting musculoskeletal care.
Learn more and sign up for the event.
Hosts: Kristen Coultas, AAOS Advocacy Communications Director and Cavan Jones, AAOS Government Relations Director
Prior authorization paperwork, insurance battles over setting of care, and EHR documentation challenges are just a few of the many ways that government policies can stand in the way of patient care. In this episode with new AAOS Advocacy Council Chair Douglas W. Lundy, MD, MBA, FAAOS, we discuss the threats we’re fighting in 2021 and how these rules and regulations impact orthopaedic surgery from Capitol Hill to the operating room.
Host: Kristen Coultas, AAOS Advocacy Communications Director
At only two months into the new administration, partisan politics remain center stage in the healthcare policy debate. President Biden’s healthcare nominees are stuck in limbo, key congressional committees are slow to take shape, and Republicans and Democrats remain sharply divided over Coronavirus relief efforts. National Journal Health Care Correspondent Erin Durkin explains how these competing priorities around pandemic response, insurance coverage, telehealth, disparities and value-based care may impact what the 117th Congress can realistically accomplish. (Recorded on 2/11/21)
Host: Kristen Coultas, AAOS Advocacy Communications Director
For decades, health insurers have been exempt from antitrust laws and allowed to act as a monopoly setting rates and maximizing profits—until now. Enactment of new legislation removes the McCarran-Ferguson Act which has protected insurers since 1945 and now requires them to follow the same free-market rules as the rest of the health care industry. In this episode, we talk with an antitrust expert about why it took so long to repeal this unfair policy and how the new law will introduce more choice and opportunity into the marketplace.
Hosts: Kristen Coultas, AAOS Advocacy Communications Director and Catherine Hayes, AAOS Senior Director of Government Relations
Recounting the ways AAOS shaped health policy in the year 2020 cannot be done without mentioning COVID-19. What began as a year dedicated to encouraging physician burden relief and resolving surprise medical billing, quickly turned into a rapid transformation of telehealth and fight for relief to preserve access to musculoskeletal services. NYC-based joint replacement surgeon Claudette Lajam, MD, FAAOS, explains what it was like in the epicenter of the pandemic, and how rapidly changing regulations impacted patient care throughout the year and will continue to affect the orthopaedic profession for years to come.
Hosts: Kristen Coultas, AAOS Advocacy Communications Director and Graham Newson, AAOS Vice President of Government Relations
Bundled payment programs are designed to promote value-based care and remain largely voluntary. With the deadline to renew or modify contracts rapidly approaching and Medicare’s acceleration towards mandatory models, a four-person panel with varying perspectives discusses whether linking payments to clinical episodes can reduce Medicare expenditures while maintaining or improving quality of care. Learn more about various alternative payment models created to achieve value-based care using AAOS' Value-Based Care Continuum guide.
Host: Kristen Coultas, AAOS Advocacy Communications Director
Biologics are increasingly being marketed and used to improve outcomes for orthopaedic patients, but the requirements for evidence of safety and effectiveness vary greatly. Leaders from the AAOS Committee on Devices, Biologics & Technology discuss the regulatory landscape, the AAOS Biologics Initiative, and the Academy’s investment in this evolving area of medicine, They also explain how the new AAOS Biologics Dashboard is designed to help members navigate the approval status of biologic-based interventions.
Learn more about the AAOS Biologics Initiative and access the dashboard.
Host: Kristen Coultas, AAOS Advocacy Communications Director
With the U.S. general election just one week away, much is at stake for the physician community. Orthopaedic PAC Executive Committee Treasurer Douglas W. Lundy, MD, FAAOS, and former candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives and Oregon State House Representative Knute Buehler, MD, FAAOS, discuss the upcoming election and orthopaedic surgeons’ need to both vote on Nov. 3 and become involved in other forms of civic engagement year-round.
OrthoPAC State-by-State Voter Resources
Host: Kristen Coultas, AAOS Advocacy Communications Director
AAOS physician leaders discuss Medicare’s proposal to eliminate the inpatient-only list (IPO) beginning with 266 musculoskeletal procedures. They recount the unresolved challenges with only recently removing several procedures from the list, and the critical opportunity for orthopaedic surgeons to lead the decision-making process with patients and safely shift care to the outpatient setting.
Host: Kristen Coultas, AAOS Advocacy Communications Director
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