News

SAS/ISASS would like to alert you to a recent article in the Wall Street Journal covering Congressman Darrell Issa’s (incoming chairman of the House’s chief investigative committee) goal of “cutting the overuse of expensive medical procedures…. …data came in a report suggesting that expensive cardiovascular and orthopedic implants are overused by doctors, sometimes after aggressive promotion by device makers.” The Wall Street Journal article can be viewed at the following link: Republican Targets Use of Costly Medical Devices SAS/ISASS President Dr. Thomas Errico’s response to the Wall Street Journal article (pending publication): December 9, 2010 The Editor The Wall Street Journal 1211 Avenue of the Americas New York, NY, 10036 To the Editor, Cong. Darrell Issa’s assertions (“Republican Targets Use […]

December 15, 2010 Don W. Bradley, M.D. Senior Vice President, Healthcare & Chief Medical Officer Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina 5901 Chapel Hill Road Durham, NC 27707 Subject: BlueCross BlueShield of North Carolina Lumbar Spine Fusion Surgery “Notification” Dear Dr. Bradley: The American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS), the American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS), the Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS), the AANS/CNS Joint Section on Disorders of the Spine and Peripheral Nerves, the International Society for the Advancement of Spine Surgery (ISASS), the North American Spine Society (NASS), the North Carolina Neurosurgical Society (NCNS), the Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America (POSNA) and the Scoliosis Research Society (SRS) would like to thank BlueCross and BlueShield of […]

Recently, SAS alerted its members to policy changes proposed by North Carolina BC/BS for lumbar fusion procedures. This proposed policy would unfairly reduce or eliminate fusion surgery as an option for many patients who would greatly benefit from such procedures. Our membership alert has generated a significant response, and will help inform and strengthen our advocacy with North Carolina BC/BS. Indeed, we are now working with myriad other medical societies, our industry partners, and individual surgeons to strongly express our concerns about this overly restrictive policy, and to request that it be modified to ensure patient access to appropriate surgical solutions to spine-related diseases and conditions. Concurrently, we have initiated a process to develop a Position Statement on lumbar fusion […]