Long COVID Initiative Updates: October 13, 2021

Members & Publications

October 13, 2021

AAPM&R will provide consistent updates on our advocacy outreach efforts, the Multi-Disciplinary PASC Collaborative and other relevant information on our Long COVID initiative.

Did You Miss Dr. Jonathan Whiteson's Doctor Radio Segment?

During his July 26 segment, Jonathan Whiteson, MD, FAAPMR, Vice Chair of Clinical Operations and Medical Director of Cardiac and Pulmonary Rehabilitation at NYU Langone Health, Rusk Rehabilitation and a host of Doctor Radio, discussed PM&R's role in Long COVID, why physiatrists are essential in treating patients with Long COVID and why AAPM&R's leadership in its COVID-19 call to action is so important. Dr. Whiteson interviewed a Long COVID patient who shared her story as well as fellow physiatrists, Benjamin Abramoff, MD, FAAPMR, who is a co-leader of our PASC Collaborative, Talya Fleming, MD, FAAPMR and Monica Verduzco-Gutierrez, MD, FAAPMR, who are PASC Collaborative members.

The show is broken into two segments - listen to part one and part two on our Online Learning Portal. Doctor Radio is managed by Rusk Rehabilitation at NYU Langone Health and broadcasted on Sirius XM Radio.

Act Now: Sign-on to Urge President Biden to Comprehensively Address Long COVID

AAPM&R has been working tirelessly to address the Long COVID crisis. Most recently, we collaborated with Rep. Mike Doyle's (D-PA) office to lead a Congressional letter to President Biden, urging him to develop and implement a comprehensive national plan to address the needs of individuals with Long COVID. We are now asking you to ask your representative to urge President Biden to develop and implement a comprehensive national plan on Long COVID. Visit this page to send a pre-written message to your House representative.

Legislation Introduced to Alleviate Impact of Conversion Factor Cut for 2021

Nov 09, 2020

Last month, two bills were introduced in the House proposing solutions to the estimated 10.6% Physician Fee Schedule conversion factor cut expected to go into effect January 1, 2021.  The bills offer some relief to the cut, but do not reflect a comprehensive or long-term solution.  AAPM&R has therefore chosen to remain neutral regarding these bills. 

Your Academy continues to advocate for a permanent solution to the conversion factor cut while maintaining the important payment increases to office and outpatient evaluation and management services.