The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) has delivered a blow to vascular surgery in the form of a 7% cut in total payment for the services it provides. The cuts are included in the agency’s final rule for Medicare payments under the Physician Fee Schedule (PFS), and were slated to take effect Jan.1, 2021. 

At the conclusion of a challenging 2020, we at the Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) have a clear mission ahead: We must work with the U.S. Congress to avoid what military experts refer to as a “tragedy of the unprepared.”

Applications are due early in 2021 for a number of Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) and SVS Foundation awards, honors and grants.

The inaugural cohort of the Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) Leadership Development Program had to show some resilience early.

The Publications Committee is responsible for overseeing, among others, the Journal of Vascular Surgery (JVS) family, the Rutherford textbook and Seminars in Vascular Surgery. After conducting reviews and interviews, committee members as a group put forth candidates for the editorship of JVS and Rutherford to the SVS Executive Committee for its final decisions, according to committee chair Peter Henke, MD.

The Basic and Translational Research Committee (BTRC) is the new name of the former Research and Education Committee.

The SVS VA Vascular Surgeons Committee is looking ahead this year to reclaim procedural volume at Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) facilities—ravaged by COVID-19—and to facilitate construction of hybrid suites.

Led by chair Peter Nelson, MD, the SVS Foundation Development Committee works with Foundation chair Peter Lawrence, MD, and the SVS Foundation Board to develop strategies to promote SVS member donations.

Since its inception, the Community Practice Committee has been a valuable resource for surgeons working in settings that serve local communities.

A new SVS Branding Toolkit is the culmination of hard work over the past two years by the Public and Professional Outreach (PPO) Committee, according to campaign spearhead and committee chair Joseph L. Mills, MD. And there’s more to come for 2021.