AAN Advocacy Expresses Needs of Neurology to Lawmakers and Regulators

continued from page 17 the Neurology on the Hill event to help establish contacts with their representatives in Washington and help promote the Academy’s national legislative agenda.

Lily Jung Henson, MD, MMM, FAAN, now serving as member of the Board of Directors, graduated from the first Donald M. Palatucci Advocacy Leadership Forum in 2003, and she continued to participate as a mentor and advisor. “The Palatucci Forum has been incredibly successful in creating advocates for neurology both here and abroad,” she said at the time. “The synergism amongst its graduates has helped the Academy’s advocacy efforts exponentially. As more members graduate from the forum, they build upon the foundation of those who came before them, and the results are obvious. For example, Drs. Maureen Callaghan, Anna Hohler, and I worked to develop the Washington State Neurological Society. Subsequent graduates of the forum have helped to sustain the work of the society. And as more of our colleagues learn about the program and the value it brings in helping them take better care of their patients, more are looking to become part of the Academy’s advocacy community.”

The forum—named in honor of the late Donald M. Palatucci, MD, FAAN, a member of the AAN Board and strong proponent of grassroots advocacy—has trained more than 593 Academy members, including 54 international members who confront challenges in their own countries. Their impact has been considerable, and several of these international members have been cited as AAN Advocates of the Year. “It is critically important that international neurologists develop vital advocacy skills that they can use to promote high-priority issues facing the practice of neurology in their home countries,” said Mohammad Wasay, MBBS, of Karachi, Pakistan, co-recipient of the 2004 Advocate of the Year Award. Of course, it’s not necessary to be part of the Palatucci Advocacy Leadership Forum or Neurology on the Hill to make your views known to Congress. All US members are encouraged to respond to AAN Action Alert emails by taking 60 seconds to send a prepared message to their representative and senators regarding issues of urgent concern. The more messages received by lawmakers, the more impact they can have.

Getting a Fair Deal for Neurology and Fighting for Access to Care

In recent years, the Academy has combatted the sustainable growth rate and sequestration of budgeted funds that threatened the livelihoods of physicians and researchers. It supported the Medicare Access and Children’s Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2015. In 2019, a major advocacy victory on E/M reimbursements resulted in an increase of approximately $150 million annually in Medicare payments to neurologists.

The AAN has identified neurology workforce gaps and advocated for stronger national commitment to graduate medical education and expansion of the Conrad 30 program to help bolster staffing. It held discussions with regulators to modify Advanced Alternative Payment Models, the Meritbased Incentive Payment System, prior authorization, and step therapies to help reduce administrative hassles, decrease the high costs of neurology drugs, and—as always—increased federal support for neurologic research. A new Legislative Summit launched in September 2019 brings several dozen key neurology advocates to meet members of Congress to discuss these and other issues.

And even though the arrival of COVID-19 in 2020 restricted travel for advocacy programs and meetings, members and staff quickly adopted Zoom to connect with lawmakers and regulators to ask for relaxed telehealth regulations, personal protective