Capitol Hill Report

September 23, 2024

Brain Health for All!

Issue in Focus

The AAN hosted its third annual Brain Health Summit in Washington, DC, on September 19. The event focused on “Brain Health in Action,” with discussions around public policy in addition to public education, science, and patient care. US Representative Jennifer Wexton (D-VA) spoke at the event, providing a policymaker’s perspective on the importance of brain health.

The AAN has a long history of advocating for policy to advance research, improve patient care, and promote the use of evidence-based guidelines in legislative and regulatory decision making. The AAN supports policies that improve brain health at every stage of life, from a person’s earliest years of development to their oldest years. Much of the AAN’s long-standing advocacy work aligns with these goals and is crucial to the AAN’s approach to brain health policy.

The AAN is dedicated to increasing our understanding of the brain, neurological diseases, and treatments. As such, the AAN supports federal funding for research through the annual appropriations process, such as support for the BRAIN Initiative, and works to advance research around preventing and treating concussion and other traumatic brain injuries. Protecting and promoting patient access to needed care is also essential to achieving brain health for all. The AAN is dedicated to the funding of VA Centers of Excellence that deliver needed neurology care to veterans, as well as ensuring patients have access to FDA-approved medications and therapeutic devices.

In order to promote brain health for all, a strong neurology workforce is essential. The AAN advocates on physician payment reform, the Medicare physician fee schedule, the Conrad 30 program, graduate medical education slots, and measures to address physician mental health and burnout. In addition to this, the AAN advocates for prior authorization reform and step therapy reform, which would improve access to recommended care and treatment. The AAN also strives to incorporate health equity efforts into brain health policy by ensuring that patients in rural and underserved areas have access to neurological care and supporting diversity in clinical trials and medical education.

Given the complexity and importance of this issue, as well as the breadth of opportunities for intervention, the AAN is currently focused on expanding its work to promote brain health through public policies that advance the primary prevention of brain disease and living well with brain disease. The AAN will continue to explore additional policy opportunities beyond those mentioned above as part of the Brain Health Initiative and continues to collaborate with key stakeholders to advance brain health for all.

Latest Advocacy News

AAN Signs on to Letter on Payment for Products under CED and Radiopharmaceuticals
The AAN signed onto a letter to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on recent proposals to reduce payments for products subject to coverage with evidence development (CED) designation and to separate payment for diagnostic radiopharmaceuticals. The letter urges CMS to abandon the CED payment policy and supports the separate payment proposal for radiopharmaceuticals.

AAN Signs on to Letter on Prescribing of Controlled Substances Via Telehealth
The AAN signed on to letters to both chambers of Congress and the White House urging leadership to ask the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to promulgate rulemaking that permanently allows physicians to prescribe certain controlled medications through telehealth. This policy was first introduced during the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency and has improved access to critically important health care treatment. The letter was sent to Senate leadership, House leadership, and the White House.

What We're Reading

• FDA greenlights sleep apnea detection on new Apple Watch (The Hill)
• KFF Health Tracking Poll September 2024: Support for Reducing Prescription Drug Prices Remains High, Even as Awareness of IRA Provisions Lags (KFF Health News)
• HRSA tells J&J to ‘immediately’ end 340B rebate plan (Fierce Healthcare)