Advocacy Articles
Updates about legislative and regulatory issues impacting the field of sleep medicine
The Federal Aviation Administration will delay the implementation of a new obstructive sleep apnea policy, the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association reported Dec. 19.
The AASM continues to move forward with federal initiatives that will benefit our Medicare patients and ensure that the future of the sleep medicine profession is protected. AASM members can support these important initiatives by donating to the AASM PAC.
The AASM continues to move forward with federal initiatives that will benefit our Medicare patients. These initiatives are vital for ensuring the future of the sleep medicine profession:
An August 2013 report by the HHS Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation found that the number of physicians accepting new Medicare patients has stayed mostly the same throughout the past seven years.
The Senate Finance and House Ways and Means are considering separate legislative proposals that would permanently repeal the sustainable growth rate formula, even though either measure is unlikely to be enacted by the end of the year.
Although there were high expectations that legislation to permanently repeal the sustainable growth rate (SGR) would pass this year, lawmakers have acknowledged that there is not enough time on the 2013 legislative calendar to enact a permanent "doc fix".
>The Obama administration announced that it would give consumers an additional eight days to enroll in coverage through the health insurance exchanges that begins Jan. 1.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced a new policy that will require obese pilots to be evaluated by a board certified sleep specialist. Under the new rule, aviation medical examiners will calculate the BMI of all pilots and air traffic control specialists.
It is unclear how much physicians will be reimbursed by health insurance plans offered through the state exchanges created by the Affordable Care Act (ACA), reports Kaiser Health News.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) invites the public to register for a web conference reviewing the progress of select Healthy People 2020 objectives in the Respiratory Diseases and Sleep Health Topic Areas.