Tag: Congress
The clash between mission and revenue for not-for-profit, tax-exempt hospitals
Hospitals represent one of the largest industries in the U.S., with revenues greater than $1.4 trillion. The American Hospital Association reports that there are...
Government Grand Rounds: A call to action for the 119th Congress
A foundational element for effective advocacy is understanding the profound impact that legislative decisions have on the practice of medicine and the health of...
Government Grand Rounds: The role of stakeholders in legislative and administrative...
Stakeholder organizations such as the Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) play a crucial role in shaping healthcare policies and ensuring that the voices of...
The power of grassroots and grasstops advocacy
The progress in congress can seem overwhelmingly slow, especially considering the 118th Congress has only passed 27 pieces of legislation while holding over 700...
I’m just a bill: An overview of health-related committees on Capitol...
In the U.S., the legislative process is complex. Among the most important in this process are congressional committees, which play a pivotal role in...
Budget neutrality and code valuation basics
So, what is budget neutrality and how does it affect physician payment? The Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) is a resource-based relative value scale...
Government Grand Rounds: How SVS members can contribute to actively support...
While advocacy consistently maintains a top spot among the list of priorities for SVS members, there remains a degree of uncertainty among many in...
Amplifying advocacy: SVS tool for vascular influence on the federal stage
In the dynamic arena of healthcare advocacy, the Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) stands as a champion, harnessing the power of amplification to thrust...
CMS: Proposed reduced conversion factor would cut vascular surgeon reimbursements
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) in mid-July released two payment-related proposed rules—the highly-anticipated calendar year (CY) 2024 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule...
Empowering vascular surgery to promote five pivotal healthcare bills before Congress
Welcome back to Government Grand Rounds, a campaign aimed at expanding vascular surgeons’ understanding of—and comfort with—the SVS’ many advocacy tools. In the dynamic...
Congress considers incremental steps towards Medicare payment reform
There is no doubt that the Medicare payment system needs reform. At this moment, the SVS is aiming to inspire reform through all facets...
VAM 2023: SVS descends on Capitol Hill
Nearly 50 SVS members took advantage of VAM’s location near Washington, D.C., visiting Capitol Hill Tuesday to discuss legislation related to vascular surgery with...
Advance: Navigating the policy and political processes on Capitol Hill
The underlying processes associated with advocacy—whether legislative, regulatory or political—are arduous and complex. As a result, measures of “success” are often characterized by progress...
Government Grand Rounds: Educating through advocacy
Since the initial launch of the Cancer Moonshot in 2016, the cancer community has made tangible progress towards ambitious goals, including accelerating scientific discovery...
Government Grand Rounds: Culture of engagement
Welcome back to Government Grand Rounds, where the Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) Advocacy Council discusses how sustained advocacy engagement is important for all...
New SVS series zeroes in on government’s impact on vascular surgery
Starting next month, the Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) will begin a series of articles focusing on how the actions of Congress and regulatory...
Medicare payments: Congress fails to #StopTheFullCut
Despite intense pressure from the entire healthcare provider community, Congress failed to include provisions in its year-end legislative package to fully prevent Medicare payment...
‘Week of Action’ raises awareness of SVS advocacy activities
From sending emails to lawmakers, posting on social media to amplify legislative issues, and donating to the Society for Vascular Surgery Political Action Committee...
SVS launches program to ‘REACH 535’ lawmakers
To leverage the power of direct engagement with lawmakers on the part of constituents, the SVS advocacy team is launching a grassroots advocacy plan...
SVS addresses pair of critical payment-related proposed rules
In July, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released two critical payment-related proposed rules for CY2023—the highly anticipated Medicare Physician Fee Schedule...
SVS’ AMA membership push aimed at safeguarding vascular surgery voice on...
The Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) is urging members to join the American Medical Association (AMA) in a bid to maintain a critical voice...
SVS PAC: A voice for vascular surgeons on Capitol Hill
As everyone turned the page on 2021 and entered 2022 with a new hope for a return to normalcy, vascular surgeons continue to be...
‘Disproportionate decrease’: Vascular surgeons see buying power fall, study finds
Inflation-adjusted Medicare reimbursement rates for the 20 most common vascular surgical procedures decreased by more than 20% in the last decade, a new analysis...
VAM: SVS PAC donors to be recognized at VAM
The SVS Political Action Committee (PAC) is critically important for our voices to be heard in the places where policies that affect all of...
Democrats take control with Biden presidency, majorities in both chambers
Democratic victories for Georgia’s two Senate seats in the runoff election Jan. 5 have solidified the Democrats’ control of the federal government for the...
Medicare cuts: Avoiding the ‘tragedy of the unprepared’
*The January 2021 issue of Vascular Specialist, which contained this story, went to press prior to the news that Congress had moved to halt cuts to...
Congress delays steep Medicare payment cuts
Both the House of Representatives and Senate have approved legislation to delay steep cuts to Medicare that were set to take effect Jan. 1,...
The power of groups: Invest in the SVS PAC
Humans are social animals, and, over time, they have found that their best times are spent in groups. We have just celebrated Thanksgiving, spending...
Present imperfect
On the morning of Nov. 9, I received a phone call from my sister. My father had been found unresponsive in his Manhattan apartment...
CMS confirms Physician Fee Schedule cuts; SVS members asked to contact...
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) has delivered a blow to vascular surgery in the form of a 7% cut in total...
Healthcare on a precipice: SVS PAC stands ready to fight coming...
Since 2002, the SVS Political Action Committee (PAC) has been a vehicle for advocacy specifically for vascular surgeons. As the only voice geared for...
Join the fight: The useful job of lobbying members of Congress
Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) members can help in the fight against announced reimbursement reductions included in the calendar year 2021 Medicare Physician Fee...
Take action to stop projected Medicare surgery cuts
The proposed Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Rule for 2021 was released Aug. 3 by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), revealing vascular...
Presenting public policy issues of importance to vascular surgeons: SVS PAC,...
Defining the narrative. It’s a cliché among pundits, board members and anyone who has a point to make or a story to tell. It...