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We were unable to process your request. Please try again later. If you continue to have this issue please contact customerservice@slackinc.com.<\/strong> <\/p>\nBack to Healio<\/button><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\nKey takeaways: <\/h2>\n\nMurad Alam, MD, MBA, MSCI, FAAD, starts his term as president of the American Academy of Dermatology.<\/li>\n New AAD leadership outlines plans to address important issues that dermatologists face today.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nThe newly elected leadership for the American Academy of Dermatology intends to address the primary issues that plague dermatologists today, including low reimbursement and limited resources.<\/p>\n
At the American Academy of Dermatology Annual Meeting, Murad Alam, <\/b>MD, MBA, MSCI, FAAD, <\/b>vice chair of the department of dermatology and professor at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, assumed his 1-year term as president of the AAD. His successor, Andrew H. Weinstein, MD, MPH, FAAD, <\/b>dermatologist and Mohs surgeon in Boynton Beach, Fla., and associate volunteer professor at University of Miami, was installed as president-elect and will start his role as president in March 2027. Jane M. Grant-<\/b>Kels<\/b>, MD, FAAD, <\/b>professor of dermatology, pathology and pediatrics, vice chair of the department of dermatology, director of the Cutaneous Oncology Center and Melanoma Program and assistant residency program director at UConn Health, will be installed as president-elect, with her term starting in March 2028. <\/p>\n
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Improved access to care, reimbursement<\/h2>\n \u201cAt present, our ability as dermatologists to provide timely and effective care for our patients is under threat from bureaucracy, red tape and ever-dwindling resources,\u201d Alam told Healio. As AAD president, Alam plans to \u201chighlight these problems and then work with wonderful colleagues and patients to find ways to improve access to dermatologic care.\u201d<\/p>\n
When asked about other goals for his term, Alam said \u201cthe access to care model is broken,\u201d noting that challenges such as insurance rules, declining resources and paperwork impact timely care and necessary treatment.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need resources to support dermatology practices, keep the lights on, pay nurses, schedulers and others, and buy the equipment required to care for patients,\u201d Alam told Healio. \u201cThere is less money to provide the same care now than there was 20 years ago, which makes no sense. It is simply not workable, and Americans are paying the price in terms of reduced access to top-quality care.\u201d<\/p>\n
Medicare reimbursement through the physician fee schedule is the most challenging issue dermatologists face, according to Weinstein, who ran for president on the promise that his \u201cimmediate and only\u201d priority would be stabilizing Medicare payment. <\/p>\n
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Andrew H. Weinstein<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\u201cYou can trace every ill \u2014 physician burnout, access to care, the over-representation of doctors in urban areas and the under-representation of doctors for the underserved and all else \u2014 to this broken fee schedule,\u201d Weinstein told Healio. \u201cIt is making it impossible for young doctors to leave residency and open an office. By ignoring an inflation-based adjustment to the physician fee schedule and cutting Medicare, Congress is playing a very dangerous game and making it impossible for these brilliant young doctors to go out and do what they were trained to do.\u201d <\/p>\n
As Healio previously reported, Medicare reimbursement for physician services declined 33% from 2001 to 2025, when adjusted for inflation. On Oct. 31, CMS issued the 2026 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule final rule, increasing the alternative payment model (APM) conversion factor by 0.75% and the nonqualifying APM conversion factor by 0.25% from the current APM conversion factor of $32.35. The final rule also included a 2.5% increase to the Medicare physician fee schedule conversion factor for services rendered in 2026. <\/p>\n
Despite these increases, physicians are still reimbursed less than they were in 1998, Weinstein said. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe conversion factor was about $35 in 1998,\u201d Weinstein said. \u201cIf you adjust for inflation, the conversion factor should be $70 today. It is absolutely stunning.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Jane M. Grant-Kels<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\u201cDermatology and the house of medicine have many issues to confront, with one of the biggest being declining reimbursements and rising costs,\u201d Grant-Kels told Healio. \u201cMy No. 1 advocacy goal would be to increase Medicare physician practice reimbursement.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u2018The most important goal before us\u2019<\/h2>\n During his term, Alam said the first step will be directing efforts toward tackling the access to care issue. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe will assemble some of the smartest and best-informed AAD members and ask them to develop strategies to overcome the money problem and find resources to better support our patients,\u201d Alam said. \u201cThis is the most important goal before us. … We need to understand what we are doing right and what we need to improve. We need to understand how to lobby the government more effectively, work in unison with others, have more physicians in positions where they can influence policy, involve patients and train ourselves to be better advocates.\u201d<\/p>\n
When he assumes the presidency, Weinstein said he plans to take steps to mobilize patients through national campaigns with Congress, boost public relations by utilizing news outlets and social media, limit political action committee funding to causes backing fee schedule updates and more, according to his campaign website. <\/p>\n
\u201cThere is going to be a change in methods,\u201d Weinstein told Healio. \u201cWe have an advocacy apparatus that can be honed to tackle this problem, but it hasn\u2019t. Our organization, and our organization only, is capable of addressing this issue.\u201d<\/p>\n
Other initiatives<\/h2>\n Alam said the AAD also plans to address AI\u2019s role in dermatology.<\/p>\n
\u201cAI is obviously the motive force of our time, but we need to better understand what the AAD specifically can and should do in this area to support our members,\u201d Alam told Healio.<\/p>\n
Another goal is to \u201cbetter understand how to involve and serve\u201d all AAD members, including the rising generation of dermatologists, Alam said. <\/p>\n
\u201cServing the next generation of dermatologists will allow them to get what they want from the AAD and, in return, the AAD will learn from their experiences and harness their energies to become better and more effective,\u201d Alam told Healio.<\/p>\n
For more information:<\/h2>\n Murad Alam, <\/b>MD, MBA, MSCI, FAAD<\/b>, <\/b>can be reached at president@aad.org.<\/p>\n
Jane M. Grant-<\/b>Kels<\/b>, MD, FAAD<\/b>, <\/b>can be reached at grant@uchc.edu. <\/p>\n
Andrew H. Weinstein, MD, MPH, FAAD, <\/b>can be reached at andy4aadpres.com.<\/p>\n\n
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Sources\/Disclosures<\/h3>\n Source: <\/h2>\n Healio Interviews<\/p>\n
References:<\/h2>\n\nVote Andy. https:\/\/andy4aadpres.com\/. Accessed April 22, 2026. <\/li>\n Andrew H. Weinstein, MD, MPH, FAAD, elected American Academy Of Dermatology president for 2027. https:\/\/www.aad.org\/news\/aad-president-2027-andrew-weinstein. Published March 31, 2026. Accessed April 22, 2026. <\/li>\n Calendar Year (CY) 2026 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Final Rule (CMS-1832-F). https:\/\/www.cms.gov\/newsroom\/fact-sheets\/calendar-year-cy-2026-medicare-physician-fee-schedule-final-rule-cms-1832-f#:~:text=Oct%2031%2C%202025-,Calendar%20Year%20(CY)%202026%20Medicare%20Physician%20Fee%20Schedule%20Final%20Rule,innovation%20for%20all%20Medicare%20beneficiaries. Published Oct. 31, 2025. Accessed April 22, 2026. <\/li>\n Murad Alam, MD, MSCI, MBA, FAAD, assumes presidency of the American Academy of Dermatology. https:\/\/www.aad.org\/news\/murad-alam-assumes-presidency-aad. Published March 27, 2026. Accessed April 22, 2026. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n
Disclosures: <\/strong>
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