AGS honors Dr. Alan Lazaroff for his commitment to geriatrics with the David H. Solomon Public Service Award

(Press-News.org) New York (April 26, 2023) — Today, the American Geriatrics Society (AGS) announced that it will be honoring Alan Lazaroff, MD, AGSF with its David H. Solomon Memorial Public Service Award, for his passionate advocacy to better align Medicare payment to meet the unique healthcare needs of older adults and to improve care coordination for patients with chronic conditions.  

“Dr. Lazaroff has been involved with the work of the American Geriatrics Society for over 25 years,” said AGS President G. Michael Harper, MD, AGSF.  “When the AMA/Specialty Society Relative Value Scale Update Committee (RUC) created a seat for geriatrics in 2012, he became the first occupant. In this role he effectively articulated the work of caring for older adults. His deep knowledge of the physician payment system has helped the AGS advocate to CMS for changes in how geriatrics health professionals are paid to prioritize reimbursement for services that improve care for older adults with multiple complex and chronic conditions. Like Dr. David Solomon, for whom this award is named, Dr. Lazaroff gives the AGS the gift of his time and expertise and I can think of no one more deserving of this award.”

At AGS, Dr. Lazaroff has been a member of the AGS Health Care Systems Committee, the AGS Public Policy Committee, and served on the Board from 2013-2019. He recently stepped down from the seat on the RUC but continues to be an active participant in our monthly payment subcommittee calls and in our larger public policy efforts. Over the years, he has also served as an AGS-nominated member of multiple expert panels, most recently participating in a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) effort to develop care episode and patient condition groups for use in costs measures to meet the requirements of the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA). He is known as a collaborative member who works to build consensus on how best to design a health care system that supports us all as we age.  He has been a key contributor to the development of new codes for transitional care management, chronic care management, assessment and planning for cognitive impairment, advance care planning, and most recently, the revision and re-valuation of the office visit evaluation and management codes. 

“My focus in my work with AGS has been on improving how geriatrics services are treated by Medicare,” said Dr. Lazaroff. “It has been my pleasure to serve as the AGS representative to the RUC and contribute to the development and valuation of services that are essential to our patients. As we slowly move to value-based care, it is important to geriatrics that the current fee-for-service system reflects the work that geriatrics clinicians provide, as that system will be the structure on which value-based care is built.”

Dr. Lazaroff recently retired from a full-time career focused on providing clinical care to older adults across settings including office-based care, hospitals, and skilled nursing and rehabilitation facilities. He is the founder of one of the original PACE replication sites (1989) and as Board Chair of that organization helped to grow it into one of the largest and most successful PACE programs. In collaboration with other primary care physicians, he built a primary care IPA and related management company which was one of the 32 Pioneer Accountable Care Organizations chosen by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI). Together with colleagues, he was able to create a model where geriatricians could demonstrate exceptional cost-effectiveness and quality and be appropriately reimbursed for delivering high quality, person-centered care to the older adults they serve. 

Established by the AGS in 2002, the David H. Solomon Memorial Public Service Award celebrates the legacy of David H. Solomon, MD, AGSF, a renowned geriatrician committed to community service and advancing knowledge about the care of older individuals. It is one of several honors conferred by the AGS at its Annual Scientific Meeting—held this year in Long Beach, CA May 4-6 (preconference day is May 3). The 2023 award recipients include more than 19 healthcare leaders representing the depth and breadth of disciplines championing care for older adults. For more information, visit AmericanGeriatrics.org. 

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About the American Geriatrics Society
Founded in 1942, the American Geriatrics Society (AGS) is a nationwide, not-for-profit society of geriatrics healthcare professionals dedicated to improving the health, independence, and quality of life of older people. Our 6,000+ members include geriatricians, geriatrics nurse practitioners, social workers, family practitioners, physician assistants, pharmacists, and internists who are pioneers in advanced illness care for older individuals, with a focus on championing interprofessional teams, eliciting personal care goals, and treating older people as whole persons. AGS believes in a just society, one where we all are supported by and able to contribute to communities where ageism, ableism, classism, homophobia, racism, sexism, xenophobia, and other forms of bias and discrimination no longer impact healthcare access, quality, and outcomes for older adults and their caregivers. AGS advocates for policies and programs that support the health, independence, and quality of life of all of us as we age. AGS works across patient care, research, professional and public education, and public policy to improve the health, independence, and quality of life of all older people. For more information, visit AmericanGeriatrics.org.

About the David H. Solomon Memorial Public Service Award
The AGS created the David H. Solomon Memorial Public Service Award in 2002 to honor David H. Solomon, MD, AGSF, for his commitment to community service and the advancement of knowledge in caring for older adults. Dr. Solomon was the founding Director of the Center on Aging at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles. He will forever be remembered for his excellence in research, teaching, patient care, and administration.

About the AGS Annual Scientific Meeting
The AGS Annual Scientific Meeting is the premier educational event in geriatrics, providing the latest information on clinical care, research on aging, and innovative models of care delivery. More than 2,500 nurses, pharmacists, physicians, physician assistants, social workers, long-term care and managed care providers, healthcare administrators, and others will convene in Long Beach, CA, May 4-6, 2023 (pre-conference program on May 3), to advance geriatrics knowledge and skills through state-of-the-art educational sessions and research presentations. For more information, visit https://meeting.americangeriatrics.org/.

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