In 2015, as a rheumatology fellow, Christina Downey, MD, attended the inaugural ACR Advocacy 101 course, put on by rheumatologists Blair Solow, MD, and Sarah Doaty, MD. “I thought it was incredibly informative, and I was really surprised at how much legislators and staff did not know about rheumatology, or what it’s like to be…
Advocates for Arthritis Push for Policy Changes at Annual Event
The ACR advocates on behalf of the rheumatology community throughout the year, but it’s always especially exciting when patients join our efforts in Washington, D.C. Close to 100 patients, rheumatologists and representatives of the broader interprofessional team traveled to our nation’s capital this week to participate in the ACR’s annual Advocates for Arthritis event. Participants…
Advocates for Arthritis Fly-In Event Benefits Rheumatology Patients
Pendaar Pooyan was diagnosed with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) in elementary school. He learned to ask for what he needed: use of a computer in class because of wrist pain and a locker that didn’t require him to bend down so far. And he learned to talk about his disease. This helped make participating for…
Maryland Gets an A; Most States Receive a C on ACR’s 1st Rheumatic Disease Report Card
In a first-of-its-kind report card, the ACR shows that many changes are needed for states to improve patient access to affordable and effective rheumatology care…
U.S. to Boost Drug Price Negotiation in Medicare Advantage Health Plans
(Reuters)—The Trump administration said on Tuesday it would give Medicare Advantage health plans for the elderly new tools to negotiate for lower prescription drug prices. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) said Medicare Advantage plans will be allowed to require that patients first try certain lower-cost drugs before moving to a more expensive…
ACR Leads Fight Against Proposed Reimbursement Cuts to E/M Services
On July 12, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued its proposed plan for changes to the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule for 2019.1 Citing the need to reduce paperwork and improve patient care, the CMS detailed a number of changes to payments physicians receive from Medicare that could have a significant impact on…
The Past & Future of Rheumatology Professionals: ACR/ARHP works to address the challenges we face
The ACR and the ARHP have a long, rich history of collaboration, spanning close to 25 years together. Our predecessors saw the value of an interprofessional team and having an organization that brings together a vast number of constituencies. The result was these two organizations coming together in 1994 when the ARHP became a division…
ACR Investigates PAMA Impact on Lab Testing
Rapid, accurate and convenient point-of-care lab testing for patients is one of the promises of 21st century medicine. However, reimbursement cuts enacted through the Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014 (PAMA) threaten access to this testing, explains Colin Edgerton, MD, FACP, RhMSUS, partner in Articularis Healthcare and chair of the ACR’s Committee on Rheumatologic…
ACR Advocates Against Proposed UHC Policy Changes
UnitedHealthcare (UHC) recently proposed two policy changes that would have a negative impact on reimbursement for consultation services and evaluation and management (E/M) services when billed with modifier 25. The effective date for both of these proposed changes is Oct. 1, 2018. Consultation Services Under the proposed consultation codes policy, UHC would end reimbursement for…
Pennsylvania Rheumatology Society Engages Multiple Generations
Two years ago, veteran leaders of the Pennsylvania Rheumatology Society (PRS)—established 20 years prior—made an important decision to get early career rheumatologists more involved. “We thought younger rheumatologists were under-represented, and we wanted to give them a voice [so they would] better understand a wider range of practice issues our society could address,” explains Alfred…
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