VOLUME 35 · ISSUE 12 · DECEMBER 2023
This is the final print issue of AANnews. Keep reading the same great articles on AAN.com!
WHAT’S CHANGING FOR NEUROLOGY IN 2024? Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Final Rule Released Each year, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issues regulations that impact the reimbursement of physicians. On November 2, 2023, CMS issued a final rule updating payment policies and rates for physicians paid under the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule in 2024. The final rule illustrates the importance of the AAN’s regulatory advocacy efforts on behalf of neurologists and their patients. The AAN previously submitted 48 pages of detailed comments in response to the various proposals made by CMS. CMS is projecting that the overall impact of changes contained in the rule will result in a one percent increase in payments to neurology as a specialty broadly. Due to the phase-out of temporary relief measures contained in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 and statutory budget neutrality requirements, CMS finalized a reduction in the Fee Schedule conversion factor of approximately 3.4 percent to 32.74. The AAN will continue to work with legislators to offset the impacts of statutorily required cuts. The AAN is committed to payment reform efforts to promote a sustainable payment system, such as ensuring physicians receive an inflationary adjustment tied to the Medical Economic Index, and to working with regulators and legislators to ensure that CMS appropriately values the work done by neurologists.
Evaluation and Management (E/M) Visits In a major win for AAN advocacy, CMS is modifying previously finalized policies impacting split (or shared) E/M visits. The agency is finalizing a revised definition of “substantive portion” for Medicare billing purposes. Under the new definition, the substantive portion is more than half of the total time spent by the physician and NPP performing the Continued on page 18
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Storms and Space Flight: As AANnews Goes Digital, a Look at Its History
Unconventional Learning Is Back with the Return of Annual Meeting Hubs
Longtime AAN members may recall receiving NeuroNews. This short, soon-renamed newsletter came out every two months—and its first issue, which rolled off the presses in February 1988, made some big promises. Along with news from within the AAN and updates on the organization’s programs, NeuroNews planned to deliver timely, accurate information on the biggest issues facing the field of neurology.
Hubs for interactive learning are back! Step outside of a traditional classroom during the 2024 Annual Meeting and into the world of hubs— Annual Meeting an out-of-the-box learning format offering unique Denver and Online • April 13–18 education and networking. More than conventional lectures, hubs are creative programs that leave participants with take-home skills and resources that can easily be transferred to their patients and careers. Be sure to check out all eight of these unique areas at the upcoming Annual Meeting in Denver and online and see a full lineup of programming at AAN.com/AMHubs.
“In the past, neurologists have been reluctant to exercise their political influence,” said the AAN’s president at the time, Theodore L. Munsat, MD, FAAN, in that first issue’s cover story. “Today’s rapidly changing health care legislation requires direct action from our members. If we don’t speak up now, neurologists will have very little control over their profession in the near future. This is why the Academy is publishing NeuroNews.” Continued on page 4
8 Inclusivity Evolves to Meet Member Needs, Reflect Societal Changes
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16 Renew Your Membership by December 31—Keep Your Valuable Benefits!
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17 Neuro-oncology
Explored in Continuum
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