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

In this episode, produced in partnership with the American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons (AAHKS), advocacy leaders from both organizations discuss the payment policy changes that have been proposed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The agency is reducing all orthopaedic surgical services by approximately 5% and reducing the work relative value units for hip and knee arthroplasty by an additional 5.4%, further compounding the mounting tension on musculoskeletal care.

Host: Chad A. Krueger, MD, AAHKS Health Policy Fellow

Orthopaedic surgeons across the U.S. are engaging with members of Congress this August as part of AAOS’ In-District Advocacy Event. AAOS First Vice President Daniel K. Guy, MD, FAAOS, talks about the policy issues they’re raising with legislators and why grassroots advocacy is a powerful tool for strengthening the voice of the musculoskeletal community. Learn more at aaos.org/indistrictevent and by following #OrthoAdvocacyinAction on social media.

Hosts: Kristen Coultas, AAOS Advocacy Communications Director and Madeline Kroll, AAOS Director of Government Relations

Physician-owned hospitals provide some of the highest quality care, at the lowest cost. Yet since the Affordable Care Act passed in 2010, they have been prohibited from expanding or establishing new facilities to meet the growing demand for services. Congressman Michael Burgess, MD (TX-26), explains why restrictions on this competitive force in America’s healthcare system should be permanently lifted—not just during the COVID-19 pandemic—for patients who deserve the right to receive care at the hospital of their choice. (Recorded on 7/21/2020)

Hosts: Kristen Coultas, AAOS Advocacy Communications Director and Catherine Hayes, AAOS Senior Director of Government Relations