In this episode, Dr. Stacey Clardy reviews the February 23rd Capitol Hill Report, recapping key takeaways from Neurology on the Hill.

Stay updated with what's happening on the hill by visiting aan.com/chr.

Learn how you can get involved with AAN advocacy.

Show transcript:

Dr. Stacey Clardy:

Hi, this is Stacey Clardy with today's Neurology Minute. It's an advocacy update from the AAN's Capitol Hill Report. More than 200 AAN members came to Washington, DC, last week for the AAN's annual advocacy fly-in, Neurology on the Hill. As you probably know, this is the annual chance for neurologists to get some face-to-face time with members of Congress or their aides in the US right on Capitol Hill. AAN members had three asks for this year's event. We did cover them last week individually on the Neurology Minute, so have a listen if you want more detail, but I'll review them quickly.

First, we asked for a permanent inflationary update to physician reimbursement based on the Medicare Economic Index and to raise the outdated budget neutrality triggers in the Medicare physician fee schedule. Under the current system, the AAN needs to ask Congress nearly every year to fix a proposed cut to physician payment under Medicare, so it's time for a better solution.

The second ask, AAN members requested their legislators to co-sponsor the Connect for Health Act in the US. This legislation would support patient access to care by making those old COVID era telehealth flexibilities now permanent rather than requiring repeated extensions. And the need to make these flexibilities permanent was especially clear in the US during the 2025 government shutdown when Medicare recipients' access to telehealth lapsed for about 45 days.

And finally, the third ask was for the BRAIN Initiative at the National Institutes of Health, it's a very important program funding basic research into the brain and it's losing a key funding stream that was previously provided through the 21st Century Cures Act, so the AAN members asked their legislators to close the gap by supporting $468 million in funding for the BRAIN Initiative in 2027. If you didn't go to Neurology on the Hill but want to support these causes, check the AAN's Advocacy Action Center, and you could contact your representative that way.

Outside of DC news, a number of state legislators are considering bills that positively or negatively affect neurology. The AAN has weighed in on several of those bills with advocacy letters. The bills it supported include later school start times in Pennsylvania, restricting AI prior authorization denials in Florida and Hawaii, mandating coverage for telehealth services in Massachusetts, and reducing prior authorization burdens in Arizona and Kansas. The AAN opposed a New York bill, however, that would give chiropractors the ability to evaluate and diagnose neuromusculoskeletal conditions and provide consultation advice and recommendations on neurology.

So you can find links and more in the Capitol Hill Report. It's available on aan.com/CHR, that's short for Capitol Hill Report, and in US members' email inboxes. That's it for this time. Thanks. I'm Stacey Clardy for The Minute.