President Signs Legislation to Fund the Government

On March 15, President Joseph R. Biden signed the $1.5 trillion omnibus federal funding bill, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2022 (H.R. 2471). Highlights relevant to neurosurgery include:

• A 151-day blanket extension of pandemic telehealth waivers after the Public Health Emergency ends, temporarily eliminating Medicare originating site and geographic restrictions, removing in-person requirements and allowing audio-only telehealth appointments
• $2,000,000 for civilian trauma centers to train and incorporate military trauma care providers and teams into care centers
• $7.25 million for traumatic brain injury research
• $12.5 million for firearm injury and mortality research
• $45 billion for the National Institutes of Health, including $620 for the Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative.

Click here for the report language and here for the summary.