Neurosurgery to Washington Monthly: Who’s REALLY Getting a “Special Deal?”
In the recently published July/August edition of Washington Monthly an article by Haley Sweetland Edwards entitled, “Special Deal” is completely outrageous in its attempt to paint specialists as a “shadowy cartel of doctors that control Medicare.” Ms. Edwards’ efforts to vilify the AMA/Specialty Society Relative Value Scale Update Committee (RUC) are misleading, inaccurate, and misguided. […]
Neurosurgical Resident Maya Babu, MD Elected to AMA Board of Trustees
Neurosurgery Blog would like to Congratulate Maya Babu, MD, MBA, a fourth-year neurosurgical resident at the Mayo Clinic, who was elected to fill the resident-fellow slot on the American Medical Association’s (AMA) Board of Trustees. Her campaign was supported by the AANS and CNS. Dr. Babu holds a Bachelor of Science in neuroscience and a […]
Medicare Must Preserve Patient Access to the Physician of their Choice
We all know that Medicare is very important to seniors, and we know that seniors are worried about its future and financial security. Seniors have paid into the system for many years and they certainly deserve to get what they were promised – a Medicare benefit that allows them access to the physician of their […]
Neurosurgeons Urge Congress to Prevent Sequestration Cuts
Today, organized neurosurgery joined the AMA and other groups in sending a letter to urge Congress to reach a bipartisan agreement to prevent budget sequestration cuts that would threaten critical health programs. So if you are not familiar with this topic, you might be asking yourself what’s this all about. Well, as we have reported before, […]
Neurosurgeons Make their Mark at AMA Meeting
The 2012 Interim Meeting of the American Medical Association’s just concluded, and once again, neurosurgery’s small, but mighty, delegation made its mark. In recognition of his longstanding service to his patients and the profession, the AMA honored one of neurosurgery’s own – Dr. Mark J. Kubala – with its Distinguished Service Award. In addition, the […]
New System for Patients to Report Medical Mistakes Could Be Potential Disaster
According to a New York Times report, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has developed a new proposed program that is intended to complement safety reports already being submitted by providers, including doctors and hospitals, with those from patients and their relatives. This proposed reporting system, would allow patients and family members to […]
Cross Post – The Impending IPAB Deadline
First and foremost we hope everyone is staying safe and dry during Frankenstorm. And for those who still have power here is today’s post… From time to time on Neurosurgery Blog you will see us cross-posting pieces from other health policy blogs when we believe they really hit the mark on an issue. Today’s post originally […]
Fixing the UnSustainable Growth Rate Once and For All!
Did you know that Congress has employed 16 temporary fixes to override sustainable growth rate (SGR) pay cuts over the last 10 years? The time for a permanent, workable and sustainable solution is loooooong overdue. To that end, neurosurgery recently joined with the American Medical Association (AMA) and over 100 state and national medical societies […]