Because you helped speak out — and in spite of fierce opposition by those in the health care swamp who benefit from opacity — the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has finalized rules proposed by President Trump that, beginning in 2021, will give patients access to actual prices for care at hospitals. Astronomical […]
Dear AAPS Members and Friends, The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is continuing down a dangerous path of policies that deem practitioners who have far less rigorous training to somehow be equal to physicians. It is critical that you take advantage of an opportunity to share your thoughts about this with the agency. Comments […]
Please take time ASAP to speak out against bills that claim to address surprise medical bills but in reality hand control to insurers and reduce patient access to independent physicians. Proponents of these dangerous bills are looking to sneak them into upcoming end of year spending bills. The good news is that most Americans already […]
NO To New Jersey Assembly Bill A5369 & S3816!Following the example of Congress, the NJ Legislature has introduced a “Patient Protection Act” (A5369 / S3816) that is anything but protective of patient rights. According to NJ Spotlight, “the proposal has drawn criticism from patient advocates and other healthcare experts who suggest that, in an effort to […]
STOP the Texas Medical Board from Forcing Patients to Wait Before Receiving Medical Care from Independent Physicians! Earlier this year the Texas legislature passed legislation (SB 1264) purporting to address an issue caused by non-payment by insurance companies, which has been mislabeled as a problem of “surprise” medical bills. The real “surprise” is that insurance […]
The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has proposed solutions that implement President Trump’s Executive Order to encourage hospital price transparency. While more fundamental reforms are needed for lasting change, it is past time to shine some sunlight on the secret prices that hospitals and health plans try to keep hidden from patients. Since […]
The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is asking for feedbackon solutions for “Reducing Administrative Burden to Put Patients Over Paperwork.” AAPS will be submitting ideas to CMS, but your help is needed to help make the most of this opportunity. Here’s how you can help: 1) Copy the below template comments. Secretary Azar and […]
In this month that we celebrate Independence Day, there are two anti-freedom bills winding through Congress that especially need your attention. 1) S. 1895, the so-called Lower Health Care Costs Act, contains a number of counterproductive and unconstitutional provisions. One of the worst of them scapegoats physicians for surprise bills caused by insurance company narrow networks. It hands insurers the power to dictate fees and […]
Earlier this Spring, the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) released 690 pages outlining proposed regulations intended to impose “interoperability” on ONC-certified Electronic Health Records (EHR) and prohibit “information blocking.” One major bug in this plan: operability is a prerequisite of interoperability and no credible […]
Last year, SB 286, an important bill introduced by Sen. John Milkovich to extend due process rights to physicians, came close to passing in the Louisiana Legislature. We are thankful the Senator is bringing it back again this year. Perseverance can be the key to success. This year the bill has a new number: SB 187 and it will […]