From the President

Dear Colleagues,

What is the AAAAI doing to look out for you and the allergy/immunology (A/I) specialty? I’d like to use this space to describe several ongoing efforts. The first four are being spearheaded by the AAAAI’s Advocacy Committee while the final item involving Maintenance of Certification (MOC) is taking place at the Executive Committee level.

Compounding

Our work to address proposed standards and regulations impacting in-office compounding of allergen extract for immunotherapy has by no means ended. We are still heavily involved in this issue.

In fact, Andrew W. Murphy, MD, FAAAAI, Chair of the AAAAI’s Office of Practice Management and Advocacy Committee member, was recently invited by the United States Pharmacopeia (USP) to represent A/I on a small work group of physicians representing specialties impacted by the proposed update to Chapter 797. The work group provided feedback for the development of definitions of “administration” of compounded substances and “urgent use.” The AAAAI continues to actively advocate on compounding issues by working with other organizations within the specialty and beyond, and will keep you informed.

School-Based Respiratory Health Management Act, H.R. 2285

Improving health and school-related outcomes for children with asthma is also among our advocacy priorities. The School-Based Respiratory Health Management Act, H.R. 2285, introduced in May by Representatives Steny Hoyer (D-MD) and Phil Roe (R-TN) at the request of the AAAAI, currently has 19 co-sponsors and continues to attract bi-partisan support in the House of Representatives. We anticipate bi-partisan introduction of the Senate bill soon.

As communicated in a previous issue of Practice Matters, this legislation is an effort to encourage implementation of programs such as the AAAAI’s School-based Asthma Management Program (SAMPRO™). I encourage you to visit the AAAAI website to read more about SAMPRO and download the free toolkit. You can also read the full text of H.R. 2285.

In-Home Administration of IVIG

We are also working to ensure that Medicare beneficiaries with primary immunodeficiency diseases have continued access to immunoglobulin treatment at all sites of care, including the home setting. The AAAAI is a strong supporter of sections 101 and 102 of H.R. 3178, which would provide a temporary transition payment for home infusion therapy and would extend the Medicare Patient IVIG Access Demonstration Project.

As you may know, Congress authorized the Medicare IVIG Demonstration (P.L. 112-242) to evaluate the items and services needed for the in-home administration of IVIG for Medicare beneficiaries with a primary immunodeficiency. While the Medicare IVIG Demonstration is scheduled to expire September 30, H.R. 3178 would extend the demonstration through December 31, 2020, to ensure continuity of care for these chronically ill Medicare beneficiaries.

Access to the Medicare Part B home infusion benefit provides this patient population the choice to avoid the hospital when their immunity is at the lowest. Thus AAAAI has written letters to Congress, first the House Ways and Means Committee and most recently the Senate Finance Committee, urging prompt passage of H.R. 3178 in order to avoid treatment disruption. The bill has already been passed by the House of Representatives but still needs to be passed by the Senate in order to be signed into law. Information has also been disseminated to the Governors of the Regional, State and Local Allergy, Asthma & Immunology Societies Assembly for grassroots engagement of our members on this issue.

NIH Budget

Last week, all members located within the United States received an email with background information and a call to action regarding the fiscal year (FY) 2018 budget for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). With Congress back in session the Senate Appropriations Committee was expected to take up its FY 2018 spending bill for NIH and other U.S. Department of Health and Human Services programs. Thus the AAAAI urged our U.S. members to contact their Senators and ask them to support the maximum possible level of funding for NIH in FY 2018. To this end, the AAAAI had joined a coalition of medical, scientific and patient organizations in recommending a $2 billion increase for NIH in the coming year.

I am pleased to report that the Senate Appropriations Committee did in fact approve a $2 billion increase for NIH on September 7. Thank you to everyone who took the time to call the offices of their Senators. NIH, and in particular the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, provides vital funding for medical research that could lead to life-improving treatments for our patients. This is why it’s vitally important for Congress to reject any cuts to the NIH that would decrease its ability to conduct medical research.

Maintenance of Certification

The Council of Medical Specialty Societies (CMSS), of which the AAAAI is a member, recently circulated the draft of a letter to be sent to the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS). The letter detailed concerns about MOC that came out of discussions at several meetings earlier this year including an American Medical Association (AMA) meeting in June. It closed by calling for a meeting in Chicago in early December where leadership of ABMS and its certifying boards (including the American Board of Allergy and Immunology), national medical specialty societies, and state medical societies can convene to discuss concerns surrounding MOC and plan a solution.

The draft of the letter was sent to the AAAAI Executive Committee for consideration and it ultimately approved adding the AAAAI’s name. AAAAI will also participate in the meeting to be held in December in Chicago. As mentioned in the letter, the desired outcome of all this is to seek agreement on how to reshape the MOC process to the betterment of physicians and the patients in their care.

These are only a few examples but serve to give you an idea of the breadth of issues the AAAAI is addressing on behalf of our members and the specialty.

Sincerely,

David B. Peden, MD, MS, FAAAAI

AAAAI President

Last updated: September 13, 2017