In the complex and ever-evolving health care landscape, the theme of the 2024 American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) Annual Scientific Meeting — What Matters — resonates deeply within the neurosurgical community and encapsulates why the AANS and its partner society, the Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS), established the AANS/CNS Washington Committee and Washington Office. Whether in the halls of Congress or before federal agencies such as the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and Food and Drug Administration (FDA), nearly 50 years ago, the AANS and the CNS recognized that organized neurosurgery must advance sound health policy. What matters is prioritizing patient care. What matters is advancing medical innovation. What matters is ensuring the sustainability of neurosurgical practice and the profession itself. What matters is supporting policymakers who work together to solve our nation’s complex health care problems for the betterment of the citizenry.
Patient Care at the Core
What matters most is the ability of neurosurgeons to provide exceptional patient care, and the AANS and the CNS always place patients at the center of neurosurgery’s advocacy efforts. The AANS/CNS 2024 Legislative & Regulatory Agenda outlines multiple patient-centered policies of priority to organized neurosurgery, including streamlining prior authorization, ensuring network adequacy and advancing quality improvement initiatives that reward high standards of care and focus on patient outcomes.
Fueling Innovation for Future Generations
The neurosurgical field is at the forefront of medical innovation with rapid developments in technology and treatments. By advocating for funding at the National Institutes of Health, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute and Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the AANS and the CNS help advance cutting-edge research that matters to patients with neurologic disorders. Neurosurgery’s strong partnership with the FDA is also critical to streamlining the medical device approval process, thus enabling faster access to modern technologies and treatments.
Ensuring the Vitality of Neurosurgery
Advocacy is essential in shaping policies that affect the recruitment, training and retention of neurosurgeons in practice. Efforts to secure funding for residency training and medical school student loans are vital to attract the best and the brightest to the field. Championing fair reimbursement and other policies, such as medical liability reform, banning non-compete clauses and removing restrictions on physician ownership of hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, imaging and other ancillary services, help ensure the viability and sustainability of neurosurgical practice in a rapidly evolving health care system.
The Power of a Unified Voice
Why it matters that neurosurgeons and their associations participate in advocacy is clear — there is strength in unity. When neurosurgeons come together, they create a powerful voice for the profession in the policymaking and political arenas. The AANS and the CNS strive to bridge the partisan divide by advocating for bipartisan policies. This commitment to bipartisan support is rooted in the belief that collaboration among Democrats, Independents and Republicans is crucial for accomplishing beneficial and lasting legislative and regulatory change. Thus, the political arm of the AANS, NeurosurgeryPAC — a nonpartisan political action committee — directs campaign contributions to candidates not based on party affiliation but instead on the candidates’ legislative records, campaign pledges and collaborative spirit that is vital for addressing our nation’s complex health care challenges.
Advocacy as a Catalyst for Change
In short, the theme “What Matters” serves as a rallying cry for the neurosurgical community to engage in advocacy. It highlights the importance of being proactive amid legislative and regulatory challenges. Through advocacy, neurosurgeons have the power to shape policies that support innovation, enhance patient care and protect the profession’s integrity. This involvement is not just beneficial; it is necessary to advance sound health policy that aligns with the realities of neurosurgical practice and the needs of patients.
Katie O. Orrico, Esq., serves as the AANS CEO and has represented organized neurosurgery for 40 years.
