Access to Care Committee

Please note that the Access to Care Committee is not accepting new member applications at this time. Committee membership is currently by appointment only.

ASMBS Staff Liaison

Leslie Vinson

Members

Amir Aryaie, MD FACS FASMBS (Georgia)
Nicholas Brown, MD FASMBS (Kansas)
Judy Chen, MD FACS ABOM FASMBS (State Chapters Committee Chair, Washington)
Karan R. Chhabra, MD MSc (Massachusetts)
David L. Chengelis, MD (Michigan)
Michael Cook, MD FACS FASMBS (Insurance Committee Chair, Louisiana)
Tuesday Cook, MD FACS DABOM (Diversity & Inclusion Committee Liaison, Maryland)
Pamela Davis, RN BSN MBA CBN (Illinois)
Wayne English, MD FACS FASMBS, Senior Past Chair (Tennessee)
Neil Floch, MD FACS (Connecticut)
Maria Iliakova, MD (Insurance Committee Co-Chair, Iowa)
Linden Karas, MD FACS (Ohio)
John Kelly, MD FACS FASMBS (Massachusetts)
Colleen Kennedy, MD MBA FASMBS (Texas)
Shanu Kothari, MD FASMBS (South Carolina)
Teresa LaMasters, MD FACS FASMBS DABOM (Iowa)
Shauna Levy, MD MS FACS (Louisiana)
Jamie Loggins, MD FACS (North Carolina)
Saniea Majid, MD FACS ABOM FASMBS (New Jersey)
John Morton, MD MPH MHA FASMBS, Senior Past Chair (Connecticut)
Fady Moustarah, MD MPH FASMBS (Michigan)
Blake Movitz, MD FACS (Michigan)
Joseph Northup, MD FASMBS, Senior Past Chair (Illinois)
Carl Pesta, DO FASMBS (Michigan)
Joshua Pfeiffer, MD FACS FASMBS (Wisconsin)
Sarah Pergande, DO (Wisconsin)
Nancy Puzziferri, MD MS FACS DABOM (Oregon)
Shireesh Saraubh, MD FACS FASMBS (Washington)
John D. Scott, MD FACS DABOM FASMBS, Senior Past Chair (South Carolina)
Michael Seger, MD FASMBS, Immediate Past Chair (Texas)
Lloyd Stegemann, MD FASMBS (Texas)
Don Selzer, MD (Insurance Committee Co-Chair, Indiana)

Regional Super STARS and STARS (State Access to Care Representatives)

Super STAR Northeast Region — Matthew Hutter, MD MPH FASMBS
STARs
CT — Danielle Friedman, MD FACS; Gabrielle Berthiaume, DNP-C (IH)
MA — Sheila Partridge, MD FACS FASMBS
ME — Kirk Sahagian, DO FACS
NH — Robert Catania, MD FASMBS
NY — William O’Malley, MD
RI — Siva Vithiananthan, MD FASMBS
VT — Patrick Forgione, MD
All New New England — Melissa Page, MS RD CSOWM LDN (IH)

Super STAR Mid Atlantic Region — Guilherme Campos, MD FASMBS
STARs
DE — Rahul Singh, MD FACS FASMBS
MD — Curtis Frederick, MD
NJ — Michael Bilof, MD FASMBS
NC — Linda Youngwirth, MD
NC/SC — Jaime Bull, PA-C (IH)
SC — David Moffat, MD
PA — Maria Altieri, MD MS; Cynthia Hipszer, RN MSN CNML CBN (IH)
VA/WV — Joseph Greene, MD MBA FACS FASMBS (Virginia); Kati Duncan, PsyD (IH, Virginia)

Super STAR Southeast Central Region — Brandon Williams, MD FASMBS
STARs
AL — Danuel Laan, MD FASMBS; Amie Rothe, BSN RN CEN TCRN NHDP-BC AFAA-CGFI NASM-CNC CBN (IH)
FL — Joey Jarrard, MD (FL); T. Javier Birriel, MD FACS FASMBS; Carah Horn, MBA-HCA BSN RN FASMBS-IH CBN (IH)
GA — Aaron Bolduc, MD; Maia Routly, DNP MA RN CPN EBP-C (IH)
KY — Joshua Steiner, MD
KY/OH — Amy Laktash, APRN MSN NP-C (IH)
OH — John Zografakis, MD FASMBS
TN — Jessica Ardila-Gatas, MD

Super STAR Upper Midwest Region — Luke Funk, MD MPH FASMBS
STARs
IA — Matthew Christopherson, MD
IL — Juaquito Jorge, MD; Betsy Felde, MBA RDN LDN (IH)
IN — Ambar Banerjee, MD FASMBS; Sarah Muntel, RD (IH)
KS — Robert Aragon, MD
MI — Amy Somerset, MD & Michael Wood, MD; Colleen Buda, PA-C CSOWM (IH)
MN — James McGreevy, MD
MO — Christopher Eagon, MD FASMBS; Angela Britt, BC (IH)
NE — Ivy Haskins, MD FASMBS
WI — Luke Funk, MD MPH FASMBS & Brandon Grover, DO FASMBS

Super STAR Lower Midwest Region — Robert O. Carpenter, MD MPH FASMBS
STARs
AR — Magdy Giurgius, MD FACS; Christle Loudermilk, RN BSN CBN (IH)
CO — Matthew Metz, MD
LA — Vance Albaugh; Laura Boyer, FNP C CBN (IH)
MS — David Carroll, MD
NM — Fermin Fontan, MD
OK — Zhamak Khorgami, MD; Kathi Ling, PT DPT WCC (IH)
TX — Tony Primomo, MD

Super STAR Northwest Region — Valerie Halpin, MD FASMBS
STARs
AK — Kevin Sigley, DO
ID — Cory Richardson, MD FASMBS
MT — John Pender, MD
ND — Ellen Vogels, DO
OR — Derek Rogalsky, MD; Greg Showell, RN (IH)
SD — Open; Kristin Turek, CNP (IH)
WA — Mohan Mallipeddi, MD
WY — Kevin Helling, MD

Super STAR Southwest Region — Ajay Upadhyay, MD FACS FRCS
STARs
AZ — Christine Lovato, MD FASMBS
CA — Ajay Upadhyay, MD FACS FRCS
HI — Steven Fowler, MD FASMBS
NV — Morgan Pomeranz, MD FACS FASMBS
UT — Eric Volckmann, MD FASMBS

Industry AD Hoc Appointed

April Williams – BariNation
Geri Cramer – Boston Scientific
Ann Roy – Boston Scientific
Kate Thomas – Eli Lilly
Ishita Doshi – Ethicon
Maria Thompson – Ethicon
Scott Wolven – Ethicon
Andrew Zebrak – Intuitive Surgical
Suzanne Baeke – Leavitt Risk
Santosh Agarwal – Medtronic
Gina Baldo – Medtronic
Susan Hupp – Medtronic
Jamie Glonek – Novo Nordisk
Maggie Irwin – Novo Nordisk
Ginger Papesh – Novo Nordisk
Chrystal Jones – Obesity Action Coalition Advocacy Manager
Joe Nadglowski – Obesity Action Coalition President
W. Scott Butsch, MD MSc – The Obesity Society
Jennifer Deperry – Pfizer
Chris Gallagher – Potomac Currents, Washington D.C. Advisor
Jeanine Sherman – ProCare Health
Dwayne Guccione – PsyMed Health
Paul Hickey – ReShape Lifesciences
Walter Lindstrom, JD – ReShape Lifesciences
Nina Crowley, PhD RD LD – SECA
Michelle Fox, RN BSN – Teleflex Incorporated

Charge

In alignment with the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS) mission to elevate global health and quality of life by significantly reducing the impact of obesity and its related illnesses, the Access to Care Committee is charged with advancing legislative and policy efforts to ensure equitable access to high-quality treatment options for individuals with obesity. This encompasses continuously evaluating, advocating for, and influencing policies and legislation that remove barriers to obesity treatment, ensuring that effective treatments are universally accessible through equitable policy frameworks. The committee’s work focuses on shaping healthcare policies to support comprehensive coverage, improve insurance processes, and encourage the adoption of standards that facilitate access to obesity treatments. Through these efforts, the committee aims to create a healthcare environment where access to care is defined by the necessity of treatment rather than the variability of coverage, aligning with the ASMBS vision of elevating global health and quality of life by significantly reducing the impact of obesity and its related illnesses worldwide.

Description

The Access to Care Committee ensures that the general membership and the Board of Directors are well-informed and educated about the latest developments and impending legislative actions in the healthcare domain. By maintaining an awareness of current and pending legislative initiatives, the committee plays a role in closely monitoring the ever-evolving landscape of healthcare policies and regulations. This commitment to information dissemination empowers the membership and Board of Directors to make informed decisions and actively participate in discussions around legislative changes that impact healthcare access in the field.

Objectives

• Enhance public and member awareness by developing and implementing targeted campaigns that inform the public and ASMBS members about current access issues and ongoing progress in healthcare policy and legislation.
• Establish clear progress targets by identifying and defining measurable short-term, mid-term, and long-term benchmarks for evaluating progress in addressing healthcare access issues.
• To promote advocacy for access issues by engaging in efforts that raise awareness and support for addressing these challenges, both internally within the organization and externally across broader communities.
• To monitor and evaluate progress by implementing a robust framework that systematically tracks advancements toward established targets, facilitating timely adjustments and ensuring accountability in addressing access issues.

Goals

• To increase public and ASMBS member awareness of current access issues and healthcare policy and legislation advancements by developing and executing focused informational campaigns.
• Proactively monitor and respond to CMS by preparing formal comments and mobilizing support when needed.
• Continuously monitor, respond to, and advocate for insurance companies’ metabolic and bariatric surgery and treatment of obesity policy changes impacting patient access to care in collaboration with industry partners, State Chapters, and members.
• Promote and advocate for the inclusion of ASMBS-endorsed procedures in insurance policies and work towards removing barriers as per ASMBS/IFSO 2022 Guidelines through direct engagement and awareness campaigns.
• Increase utilization of covered procedures by implementing targeted educational and outreach programs to encourage patients with coverage to utilize their benefits.
• Legislative advocacy efforts to support patient access to necessary procedures and treatments, promoting key initiatives like TROA and EHBP through collaboration with other advocacy groups.

2024/2025 Current Projects

• Policy Updates/New Guidelines Wins
• State Directed/Employee Health Benefits (EHB)
• Utilization of Benefits & Media to Promote Awareness
• Legislative Efforts
  • Treat and Reduce Obesity Act (TROA)
  • CMS Issues
  • Local and Regional
• Collaboration with ASMBS State Chapters
• Advanced Advocacy

2023/2024 Completed Projects

• Successfully implemented change using the 2022 ASMBS/IFSO Guidelines on MBS in many insurance coverages and increased coverage for SADI-S.
• Organized a massive national response in less than 2 months to CMS’ proposal to remove sleeve and bypass from IPO list; they did not.
• Timely frequent communication to Committee, State Chapters, and general membership of updated insurance policies.
• The committee continues to support advocacy efforts in all 50 states to improve state health exchange coverage, state employee coverage, Medicaid coverage in all 50 states, and the passage of the Treat and Reduce Obesity Act (TROA).

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