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News Briefs
Editor-in-Chief: Melissa W. Ko, MD, MBA, CPE, FAAN
Managing Editor: Angela M. Babb, MS, CAE, APR
Editor: Tim Streeter
Writers: Ryan Knoke and Sarah Parsons
Designer: Siu Lee
Email: aannews@ aan.com
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New DEA Training Requirement
The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 enacted a new, one-time, eight-hour training requirement for all providers registered with the federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). The training is on the treatment and management of patients with opioid or other substance use disorders.
Beginning June 27, 2023, the DEA will require practitioners to affirm that they have completed the new prerequisite on their DEA initial and renewal registration forms. Learn more about resources at AAN.com/Education to help members satisfy this requirement.
Pediatric Specialty Loan Repayment Program
The federal Health Resources and Services Administration has created a loan repayment program for those in pediatric specialties. The AAN has advocated for this program and is pleased to see it come to fruition. Applications for the program are due July 20. Learn more at https://bit. ly/43X7V5G and spread the word about this program to those who may qualify.
Section Meetings
Virtual business meetings for the AAN’s 41 Sections were held in May and June. Check SynapseSM Member Communities at https://synapse.aan.com/home for the latest discussions in your section.
Early in the PHE, your AAN created the COVID-19 Neurology Resource Center and developed a wealth of resources to help members deal with urgent situations like quickly implementing telehealth visits and safely reopening their practices to inperson visits. We provided guidance about the federal funding and loans available to help keep their practices running and pay employees. In 2020, we offered free webinars to prepare members for Telemedicine and COVID-19, Financial Support for Practices, and Key Considerations for Reopening a Neurology Practice. To date, the AAN’s “Telemedicine and COVID-19" webinar is one of the most-viewed webinars, with over 15,000 views. In all, our COVID-19 Neurology Resource Center logged more than 200,000 page views.
On Capitol Hill, the AAN was a strong proponent of legislation that would expand the telehealth flexibilities allowed under the PHE. As Congress has looked for ways to continue these flexibilities, the AAN has endorsed several proposed bills, including:
Advancing Telehealth Beyond COVID-19 Act (H.R. 4040)
Telehealth Extension and Evaluation Act (S. 3593/H.R. 7573)
CONNECT for Health Act (S. 1512/H.R. 2903)
Telehealth Modernization Act (S. 368/H.R. 1332)
Telehealth Extension Act (H.R. 6202)
Protecting Access to Post-COVID-19 Telehealth Act (H.R. 366)
Protecting Rural Telehealth Access Act (S. 1988/H.R. 5425)
Permanency for Audio-Only Telehealth Act (H.R. 3447)
Most recently in 2023, the AAN has:
Signed on to a stakeholder request that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services harmonizes deadlines impacting Medicare telehealth
Delivered comments to CMS about additional services that should be included on Medicare’s permanent list of telehealth services
Congress passed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, which expanded Medicare telehealth flexibilities, including audio only, for two years through December 31, 2024. While this helped eliminate the threat of a sudden end to telehealth flexibilities at the end of the PHE, the AAN will continue to advocate for a permanent expansion before the end of the 118th Congress. Further, many of the pandemic-era telehealth flexibilities— notably expanded services reimbursement—will be determined by CMS for 2024. The AAN will continue to gather member feedback to use in advocating for adequate coverage and reimbursement from the regulatory agency. To help members navigate the post-PHE federal policy landscape, the AAN has produced a summary outlining key telehealth deadlines.
In the early days of the PHE, the AAN worked to rapidly formulate recommendations for regulators across the Department of Health and Human Services and decision makers in the White House concerning the need for relief from regulatory burdens so that providers could focus on patient care. We stressed the importance of loosening of regulatory restrictions on telehealth, the paramount significance of ensuring adequate personal protection equipment and other resources to allow for continuity of care, and the urgency surrounding expedited financial relief for practices. As the PHE continued, the AAN worked to communicate key learnings that stemmed from practice changes during the PHE to policymakers. The AAN also provided formal comment on the need for permanent changes impacting telehealth and the need for a sustainable payment system to promote workforce sustainability.
Many members likely know that neurologists were early adopters of telehealth, principally with the expansion of telestroke prior to the pandemic. Today, neurology experiences higher telemedicine use among medical specialties, bringing care to patients for whom access is limited by geography, transportation, and/or health status.
In April 2021, the AAN’s Telehealth Subcommittee was launched under the Medical Economics and Practice Continued on page 4
