March 9, 2026 Capitol Hill Report: Our 2026 Advocacy Priorities

Mar 16, 2026

A concise rundown of 2026 advocacy priorities on access to care, including drug pricing proposals and telehealth permanence. A look at efforts to reduce administrative burdens like prior authorization and step therapy. Discussion of neurology workforce concerns, Medicare reimbursement and immigration for international trainees. An overview of threats to neuroscience research funding and advocacy for NIH/NINDS support.

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INSIGHT

AAN Prioritizes Access To Care For 2026

Access to care is the AAN's top 2026 advocacy priority focusing on drug affordability, telehealth, and coverage policies.
The AAN responded to CMS GLOBE and GARD mandatory drug pricing models with recommendations to avoid unintended access issues for specialty neurology medications.

INSIGHT

Regulatory Burdens Threaten Clinical Time

Reducing regulatory burdens like prior authorization and step therapy is a key AAN priority because they consume clinicians' time.
The new Medicare WISeR Model adds prior authorization for some services, prompting AAN and partners to push back and monitor similar policies.

INSIGHT

Workforce Stability Requires Payment And Immigration Fixes

Strengthening the neurology workforce includes fair Medicare reimbursement, clinician wellness, and immigration policies for international medical graduates.
AAN seeks a permanent inflationary update and an end to budget neutrality in the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule to stop annual reimbursement cuts.

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In this episode, Dr. Jason Crowell reviews the March 9th Capitol Hill Report discussing the AAN's advocacy priorities for 2026.

Stay updated with what's happening on the hill by visiting aan.com/chr.

Learn how you can get involved with AAN advocacy.

Show transcript:

Dr. Jason Crowell:

Hey, this is Jason Crowell. Thanks for listening to today's Neurology Minute. Today, we have an advocacy update from the AAN's Capitol Hill Report. The AAN has come out with its top advocacy priorities for 2026, and the first is access to care which includes affordable prescription drug prices, telehealth, and adequate coverage policies. Neurological conditions can require expensive specialty drugs as we know, so the AAN supports policies that ensure prescription medications are accessible to patients. Related to this priority, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation recently announced the GLOBE and GUARD models, two proposed mandatory drug pricing models that would make manufacturers pay rebates if their drug prices exceed global benchmarks. The AAN has responded to these proposals with recommendations to avoid unintended access issues. It's also important to make telehealth flexibilities permanent for Medicare beneficiaries, and the AAN has been lobbying for the CONNECT for Healthcare Act to do that.

The second top priority is reducing regulatory and administrative burdens, like prior authorization and step therapy which we're familiar with. This is a longtime problem for physicians who spend a lot of time each week. We deal with these processes and we'd rather be treating patients, as you know. A new Medicare initiative called the WISeR Model establishes new prior authorization requirements for some medical services, and while it doesn't directly affect neurology, the AAN and other organizations are pushing back and closely monitoring for future similar models.

Next is the neurology workforce. This includes making sure Medicare reimbursement for neurological services is enough to maintain a practice, as well as supporting wellness and immigration policy to allow international medical graduates to practice in the US. Related to this priority, the AAN has been pushing for a permanent inflationary update to the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule and to end the schedule's outdated budget neutrality requirement that ends up causing cuts to reimbursement each year.

The final priority is neuroscience research and brain health. There have been a lot of threats to research funding recently, and the AAN has been lobbying for NIH and NINDS funding that includes the BRAIN Initiative, an important program that's led to neurology breakthroughs. It's set to lose a big part of this funding at the end of the year when funding from the 21st Century Cures Act expires. So the AAN has been asking Congress to help make up the gap through appropriation spending.

There's much more in this week's Capitol Hill Report, and this is available on aan.com/chr, and for our US members, you can also find this Capitol Hill Report in your inbox. So check it out to learn more.