Using Your Voice to Improve Reimbursement

About this episode

In this episode of Talking Sleep, host Dr. Seema Khosla welcomes members of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine advocacy team for an inside look at the work being done behind the scenes to support sleep clinicians and advance patient access to care. Joined by Diedra Gray, Tracy Bunge, Eric Albrecht, and Melissa Clark, the conversation explores how physician reimbursement decisions are made and how sleep medicine professionals can help shape the future of the field. Many sleep clinicians have experienced the frustration of declining reimbursement, changing payment policies, and increasing administrative burdens. While it can feel as though these decisions are beyond the influence of individual physicians, this episode highlights the many ways clinicians can contribute their expertise and advocate for sustainable sleep medicine practice. The discussion examines the complex process behind physician payment, including the roles of CPT coding, the AMA Relative Value Scale Update Committee (RUC), Medicare payment rules, and private payer policies. Listeners will gain insight into how reimbursement values are determined, how proposed policy changes are evaluated, and why physician