Drs. Tracci, Sideman, Connolly, and Mattos, representing the Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) Policy and Advocacy Council, Government Relations Committee (GRC), and the Political Action Committee (PAC), join Adam Johnson and Nicole Rich to discuss how they became involved and specifically their work regarding the United States Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Payment Reforms that will go into effect in January 2021.

The updated physician fee schedule will substantially alter the Evaluation and Management (E/M) Codes that physicians use to bill for office-based services provided to Medicare patients. Our panelists detail how these changes will decrease reimbursement for surgical procedures, impact the field of vascular surgery, and the importance of surgeon involvement in the advocacy process.

Panel Members

• Dr. Megan Tracci (@MeganTracci) is an associate professor of surgery at the University of Virginia (UVA) Health in Charlottesville, VA, and the chair of the SVS government relations committee (GRC).
• Dr. Matthew Sideman (@UTHSAvascular) is an associate professor of surgery at UT Health San Antonio in San Antonio, TX, and is the chair of the SVS Policy and Advocacy Council, as well as the SVS Representative to the RVS Update Committee (RUC).
• Dr. Peter Connolly (@phcvascular) is an associate professor of surgery at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City, NY, and co-chair of the SVS Political Action Committee (PAC).
• Dr. Mark Mattos is a self-employed vascular surgeon, the program director for the vascular surgery fellowship at Michigan Vascular Center in Flint, MI, and co-chair of the SVS Political Action Committee (PAC).

Learn more about Payment Reform:

• SVS Town Hall: Financial Implications of Impending Payment Reform
• SVS 2021 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule One-Pager
• SVS Advocacy Resources for Members
• Surgical Care Coalition
• Vascular Specialist: Advocating for our Members
• CMS Newsroom Factsheet: Final Policy, Payment, and Quality Provisions Changes to the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule for Calendar Year 2021

Get involved in Policy and Advocacy through the SVS:

• Voter Voice: Contact Congress via the SVS
• SVS Virtual Coding & Reimbursement Workshop
• SVS Vascular Surgery Trainee Advocacy Travel Scholarship
• SVS Councils & Committees

This episode is the first of our series working with the SVS political organizations.  Future topics may include coronavirus response legislation, student debt, prior authorization, and red tape reduction.

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