August 26, 2025
8 min watch
Key takeaways:
- AAD President Susan C. Taylor, MD, FAAD, has advocated for dermatology visibility and reimbursement reform.
- This is part one of a Beneath the Surface video series.
The American Academy of Dermatology, currently led by Susan C. Taylor, MD, FAAD, is supporting its members during a time of rapid change and a challenging reimbursement environment, both complicating access to care.
For Taylor, who always knew she wanted to be a doctor, the work is personal.
“I was born and reared in Philadelphia from a very disadvantaged background,” Taylor said during a Beneath the Surface LinkedIn Live interview with Joel M. Gelfand, MD, MSCE, FAAD, the James J. Leyden Professor of Clinical Investigation and professor of dermatology and epidemiology at University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine and Healio Dermatology’s Chief Medical Editor. “I knew I always wanted to serve the underserved, and I thought I would go into internal medicine to treat diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular disease in the inner city where I was from.”
It wasn’t until she completed a rotation in dermatology during her 4th year of medical school at Harvard University that Taylor discovered her love for the specialty.
“I understood, as I got into residency, that I could still care for the underserved in dermatology,” Taylor said. “People might think that dermatologic diseases are simply cutaneous, but they affect so many different parts of the body. Dermatologists really do save lives.”
After receiving her undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania and her medical degree from Harvard University, she completed residencies at Pennsylvania Hospital and New York-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center. From there, Taylor went on to open her own private practice in Philadelphia, Society Hill Dermatology, where she treated patients for nearly 30 years.
Taylor also founded the Skin of Color Society, the Skin of Color Center in New York City and the Fellowship for Skin of Color Dermatology. With a focus on pigmentary disorders and alopecia, Taylor served on 25 committees and task forces over the years. She also served as vice president of the AAD before stepping into her role as president.
As president, Taylor has led multiple initiatives through the AAD, with the most important being addressing the inflation and reimbursement crisis, she said.
“We are very, very concerned about our senior citizens, who could lose fundamental care from dermatologists as well as other specialties,” Taylor said. “So, we have made Medicare physician practice payment reform our No. 1 priority.”
Taylor addressed decreased reimbursement for dermatologists over the last 20 years, which she said makes it difficult for private practices to stay afloat. During the course of her presidency, Taylor has met with legislators, advocated with physician payers and led policy changes to ease this burden.
Recently, Taylor stopped insurance company Blue Cross and Blue Shield from enacting a policy that would have reduced the reimbursement for a certain dermatologic code by 50%.
Every year for the past 20 years, AAD members traveled to Capitol Hill to perform skin cancer checks on legislators and their staff, in an effort to reinforce the importance of dermatologic care among lawmakers and advocate for fair reimbursement.
“During these discussions, we explain how dermatologists treat and care for patients with really serious disorders,” Taylor said. “But, for us to continue to do this, we really need to improve the reimbursement.”
As challenges arise, Taylor said the AAD will continue to champion the cause of dermatologists.
“We will continue to stay on top of these issues and advocate for our members,” Taylor said.
Editor’s note: Beneath the Surface is a video series in which Joel M. Gelfand, MD, MSCE, Healio Dermatology ’s Chief Medical Editor, discusses hot topics in the field with leading experts. This three -part edition is focused on navigating the rapidly changing world of dermatology .
For more information:
Joel M. Gelfand, MD, MSCE, FAAD, can be reached at dermatology@healio.com.
Susan C. Taylor, MD, FAAD, can be reached at president@aad.org.
