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On May 16 and 17, ACR/ARHP leaders serving on the Board of Directors, Affiliate Society Council, Government Affairs Committee, Committee on Rheumatologic Care, RheumPAC Committee and Insurance Subcommittee once again went to Capitol Hill to advocate on behalf of ACR/ARHP members and their patients. The group represented 27 states and the District of Columbia, and conducted meetings in offices of the Senate and House of Representatives, as well hosting dinner with Rep. Michael Burgess, MD, chair of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health.
During the Hill meetings, ACR/ARHP leaders asked that Congress support H.R. 2077, the Restoring Patient’s Voice Act, to mitigate the impact of step therapy, or fail-first policies, on patient care by creating a clear and transparent process for patients with employer-sponsored insurance to seek exceptions to mandated step therapy. This legislation would also establish a reasonable and clear time frame for granting these exceptions and require insurers to consider the patient’s medical history and the medical provider’s expertise in partnership with their own before denying a patient a prescribed medically necessary treatment. In short, this is common sense legislation that puts the patient first by addressing the delay and de facto denial of care that too many patients face.
