Ensure The Long-Term Viability of Physician Practices

  • Reform Medicare Payments: Urge policymakers to enact significant reforms that promote predictable and sustainable reimbursement.
  • Secure Coverage and Reimbursement: Work with payors and stakeholders to ensure that cardiothoracic procedures are covered and reimbursed appropriately.
  • Make Telehealth Permanent: Collaborate with stakeholders to retain flexibilities beyond 2025.
  • Reduce Administrative Burdens: Reform prior authorization requirements that impede access to care.
  • Advocate for Effective Medicare Payment Models: Maximize cardiothoracic surgeon participation in value-based payment models and ensure appropriate measurement.
     

Enhance Patient Access to Lung Cancer Screenings and Treatment

  • Advance the STS Mobile Lung Cancer Screening Initiative: Advocate for funding and resources to support mobile lung cancer screening programs, to increase access to early detection and ensure appropriate treatment of lung cancer in rural and underserved communities.
  • Maintain Preventative Coverage: Ensure coverage of lung cancer screening based on the best evidence available without administrative hurdles like prior authorization or no cost-sharing for patients.
     

Protect the Surgeons Role on the Heart Team

  • Foster Collaboration: Ensure that Medicare coverage requires a cardiothoracic surgeon’s involvement on the heart team for patient selection and procedures.
  • Advance Access to Innovative Treatments: Highlight the critical role of CT surgeons in ensuring patient access to cutting-edge therapies while upholding the highest standards of safety.


Reduce Barriers to Congenital and Pediatric Care

  • Streamline Access to Out-of-State Specialized Care: Promote expedited patient access to highly specialized care across state lines for Medicaid beneficiaries.
  • Promote Research Impacting Congenital Patients: Fund targeted research into pre-term births that contribute to neonatal cardiac diseases, pulmonary hypertension, and more.
     

Address the Growing Workforce Shortage

  • Invest in Training Cardiothoracic Surgeons: Support raising the cap on Medicare-supported residency positions and providing support for surgeons in training.
  • End Physician Non-Compete Agreements: Protect policies that end non-compete agreements and prohibit artificial barriers for employed physicians.
  • Improve Physician Wellness: Promote programs that foster resiliency and reduce burnout.
     

Maximize Effectiveness of the STS National Database 

  • Secure Access to Claims Data: Enable clinician-led registries to utilize federal claims data for assessing care quality, efficacy, and accelerating patient access to innovative treatments.
  • Illustrate the Benefits of Real-World Evidence: Use the ACC/STS TVT Registry™ to demonstrate the  positive impact of real-world data on policy decisions and Coverage with Evidence Development.