The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics commends the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for developing the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
Since April 2019, the American Association of Physicists in Medicine has championed a critical way to make X-ray imaging safer and more effective by discontinuing the long-standing practice of placing leaded shields over patient gonads. Today, the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements released a statement recommending the discontinuation of routine shielding of patient gonads during X-ray imaging exams and AAPM stands ready to help imaging providers, patients and caregivers to understand and adopt these new best practices – practices that will ensure safer and higher-quality X-ray exams.
The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) is gratified by the overwhelming concern from Veterans, their families, the medical community and concerned citizens about a rule from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) that would remove physician supervision from anesthesia care in VA. More than 10,000 comments were submitted, including more than 3,000 from Veterans and their family members, in support of maintaining safe, high-quality physician anesthesiologist-delivered or physician-led anesthesia care for our nation’s Veterans, out of the 13,000 comments submitted overall.
The Endocrine Society is calling on policymakers to include government negotiation as part of an overall strategy to reduce insulin prices in its updated position statement published today in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.
“AERA is horrified by this attack on our democracy; the violence wrought to the heart and soul of all humanity; and the unconscionable acts that threaten the safety of our elected officials, their staffs, and law enforcement and Capitol building workers.”– AERA Executive Director Felice J. Levine, PhD.
A team of renowned scientific experts has joined forces from across the world to help fight the spread of misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccines, which hold the key to beating the deadly pandemic and releasing countries from debilitating lockdown restrictions.
The rising influence of Russia and China in the development, construction and deployment of civilian nuclear reactors around the globe raises significant geopolitical challenges for the United States, according to a new analysis by two University of Georgia professors.
The American Thoracic Society opposes the EPA’s final rule on Data Transparency issued in the waning days of the Trump Administration. The final rule, which is the focus of a press conference today, is a continuation of the Trump Administration's persistent attack on the science showing the adverse health effects of environmental pollution. This rule would exclude vital scientific data from future EPA decision-making and make patient confidential information more vulnerable to public disclosure.
A new law signed Jan. 1 by Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker lifts certain supervision requirements on advance practice registered nurses, providing patients across the state with greater access to high-quality care.
After nearly a decade of advocacy, the colorectal cancer community celebrates a major victory as the “Medicare loophole bill” passes the House and Senate, and gets signed into law.
The American College of Radiology® (ACR®), Society of Breast Imaging® (SBI®), patient advocates and others secured an extension of the moratorium on harmful 2009 and 2016 United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) Breast Cancer Screening Guidelines from Dec. 31, 2021 to Dec. 31, 2022. Without this added protection gained in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (Omnibus and Coronavirus Relief Bill), under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), mammography coverage for women younger than 50 may have been impacted starting Jan. 1, 2022. The newly passed bill ensures that women ages 40 and older who want annual screening mammograms will retain insurance coverage with no copay.
The American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (AANA) Board of Directors approved a position statement recommending that Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) and student registered nurse anesthetists educate themselves to make an informed decision about receiving the vaccine and ensure that their healthcare administrators are aware of the important role CRNAs have in patient care, especially during the pandemic.
Congressional leaders have agreed on both a $1.4 trillion Fiscal Year 2021 budget and $900 billion COVID-19 stimulus package. The legislation addressed three Association of American Cancer Institutes public policy priorities.
The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) is pleased that a number of ASA’s priorities were addressed in the most recent COVID-19 stimulus bill; some improvements to the final surprise medical bill provisions and partial relief from the previous draconian Medicare cuts scheduled for January 1, 2021.
The U.S. Congress passed a year-end agreement on Dec. 21 that includes a fix to the issue of surprise medical billing. Known as the “No Surprises Act,” the agreement helps prevent patients from receiving surprise medical bills and establishes a framework to resolve bills between providers and payers.
• An estimated 375 adult kidney transplant recipients lose their transplant every year due to a lack of coverage of immunosuppressive medications after the prior 36-month Medicare coverage period.
• Congress passes ASN priority legislation to extend immunosuppressive drug coverage for kidney transplant patients.
• The bipartisan bill is expected to save Medicare $400,000,000 over 10 years by averting the return of transplant patients to dialysis.
Congress passed legislation supported by the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) that will delay the start of the Radiation Oncology Advanced Payment Model (RO Model) until Jan. 1, 2022, while bipartisan U.S. representatives sent an oversight letter to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) this week calling for changes to the flawed RO Model. In the letter led by Representatives Brian Higgins (D-N.Y.) and Mike Kelly (R-Penn.), 16 representatives urged CMS Administrator Seema Verma to protect cancer patients’ access to life-saving radiation treatments by scaling back deep reimbursement cuts for the nearly 1,000 radiation oncology providers required to participate in the model.
As a result of advocacy by an American College of Radiology® (ACR®)-led medical coalition, representing more than a million providers, and efforts with other physician partners, the newly-passed Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (Omnibus and Coronavirus Relief Bill) includes: a significant reduction in anticipated Medicare provider payment cuts due to evaluation and management (E/M) coding changes; phased-in implementation of these E/M adjustments; and a vastly improved “surprise medical billing” policy. ACR support also helped secure a one-year delay of the radiation oncology payment model in the year-end legislation.
The American Chiropractic Association (ACA) convened a leadership roundtable this month to explore issues related to equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) in chiropractic.
The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses has released a statement strongly recommending that nurses be vaccinated against COVID-19. In the statement, the organization addresses the nuanced sense of pride and anxiety felt by nurses and other healthcare professionals who have been given top priority to receive the first COVID-19 vaccines.
An opinion piece published today online in BMJ by Nina Schwalbe in the Heilbrunn Department of Population and Family Health at Columbia Mailman School of Public Health, calls for a national vaccine strategy now that COVID-19 vaccines are available.
The American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) is asking Congress to improve the “No Surprises Act,” which was recently introduced as compromise legislation to end surprise medical billing. In a December 17 letter, AAOS President Joseph A. Bosco III, MD, FAAOS, acknowledged the significant progress made by Congress to address the longstanding problem and outlined several recommended improvements.
The Regulatory Relief Coalition (RRC), a group of national physician specialty organizations, announced its strong support for the Improving Seniors' Timely Access to Care Act, legislation introduced today in the U.S. Senate by Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and John Thune (R-SD).
The Forum of International Respiratory Societies (FIRS), an organization comprised of the world's leading international respiratory societies, including founding member the American Thoracic Society, calls for urgent access to affordable COVID-19 vaccines globally.
The Endocrine Society and the Pediatric Endocrine Society oppose legislative efforts to block transgender and gender diverse individuals from accessing gender-affirming medical and surgical care, the two medical societies said in a joint policy perspective published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.
The Association of American Cancer Institutes (AACI) commends the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its swift action to grant Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) to Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine.
With the first round of COVID-19 vaccines being deployed to states across the country, the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) advises that anesthesia professionals, and other frontline health care workers, be prioritized to receive early access to the COVID-19 vaccination given their high risk of exposure to the virus in operating rooms, labor and delivery suites, procedural areas, emergency rooms and critical care units.
AERA condemns the opinions expressed by Joseph Epstein in a recent op-ed published in the Wall Street Journal criticizing Dr. Jill Biden’s use of the “Dr.” title. The op-ed was a shameful exercise in the denigration of women, doctoral education, community college faculty, and professionals who advance evidence-based practices and policies through education research. The Journal should have had second thoughts about publishing such an ill-informed, juvenile, and misogynistic piece.
Medicare cuts to a million health care providers, many reeling from the economic impact of COVID-19, may cause practice closings, service reductions, job losses and decreased access to care. With the cuts to start Jan. 1, nearly 400 medical organizations and 329 members of Congress are calling to #StopTheCuts
Virtual NCCN Policy Summit from the National Comprehensive Cancer Network explores how health policymakers can respond to the needs and wishes of people with cancer across all ages.
A new surgical patient demographic has emerged during COVID-19; patients who have recovered from the virus. To help hospitals, surgeons, anesthesiologists and proceduralists evaluate and schedule essential and elective surgeries for these patients, the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) and the Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation (APSF) offer the following guidance as hospitals need to perform surgery even as the country continues to grapple with the pandemic.
The final rule provides much-needed increases in Medicare reimbursement for the evaluation and management (E/M) services provided by rheumatologists and other cognitive care specialties to Medicare beneficiaries. Healthcare services billed under E/M codes include examinations, disease diagnosis, risk assessments and care coordination.
The American College of Rheumatology (ACR) today warned that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) interim final rule establishing a “most favored nation” (MFN) payment model for Medicare Part B drugs will dramatically disrupt patient access to critical therapies needed to manage rheumatic diseases and conditions.
The American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (AANA) backs the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) decision to permanently allow Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) to supervise diagnostic tests—a decision that will ensure patients’ access to safe, high-quality care.
The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) today expressed its support for President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s nomination of Xavier Becerra as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
The American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (AANA) commends the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC's) team of advisors on prioritizing frontline healthcare personnel and residents of long-term facilities for the first phase of the COVID-19 vaccine distribution.
Medicare has finalized a regulation mandating drastic cuts to its payment rates for important health care services, threatening the practices of physician anesthesiologists who have been on the front lines of the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic. The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) opposes these detrimental payment reductions, and urges Congress to take immediate action to override the cuts and ensure physician anesthesiologists can continue to care for their patients while being fairly compensated for their work.
“Following the swi. review— and subsequent guidance— by the NIH and theCDC of Ivermectin, we expect that Ivermectin’s widespread, immediate use willallow for a rapid and safe re-opening of businesses and schools across the nation—and quickly reduce the strain on overwhelmed ICUs.” —FLCCC Alliance
As COVID-19 cases surge across the country, the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (AANA) is urging the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to make a waiver that suspends physician supervision requirements of nurse anesthetists permanent.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently issued a request for information regarding waivers declared during the COVID-19 pandemic, including one that removed physician anesthesiologists from anesthesia care and replaced them with nurses. The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) urges Americans to protect older patients and those with disabilities by posting a comment to the Federal Register asking the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to rescind the temporary policy that lowers the standard of care and risks patients’ lives.
The final 2021 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule fails to avert the potential impact on seniors of payment cuts to more than a million health care providers already reeling from COVID-19’s financial impact. If Congress does not act now to address these changes, the results may be devastating for patients, communities and providers.
The Medicare Physician Fee Schedule released today by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will harm patients and further destabilize a health care system already under severe strain from the COVID-19 pandemic.
This World AIDS Day, the Forum of International Respiratory Societies (FIRS), of which the ATS is a founding member, is calling on governments, health advocates and non-government organizations to strengthen their response to AIDS and tuberculosis, and to ensure that TB services are maintained throughout their response to COVID-19.