U.S. Senate Approves Biden Administration Nominee as CMS Administrator On Tuesday, May 25, 2021, the U.S. Senate confirmed President Joe Biden’s pick to run U.S. health insurance programs, putting in place a key player who’ll carry out his strategy for expanding affordable coverage and reining in prescription drug costs. Chiquita Brooks-LaSure was approved by the...
CMS Announces Revisions to Quality Payment Program On May 20, 2021, CMS announced that the 2020 Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) Cost Performance Category under the Medicare Quality Payment Program (QPP) incentive program will be reweighted to 0% of the final score even if eligible physicians or groups submitted 2020 data in other MIPS categories...
Read the Spring 2021 issue of “Vertebral Columns” Vertebral Columns continues to focus on topics relevant to your clinical practice as a spine surgeon. This issue highlights the benefits and drawbacks of big data in spine surgery, the cost-effectiveness of image guidance, how to advise patients with preoperative lower extremity weakness caused by lumbar pathology,...
ISASS Comments on Payer Coverage Policy on Intraoperative Monitoring ISASS submitted comments to Cigna on a draft coverage policy and literature review regarding intraoperative monitoring (IONM). The letter was a joint letter with other spine surgery societies, the American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons, and the American Association of Neurological Surgeons. In the comment letter, the...