As Congress grapples with repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act, MACRA benchmarking already underway and other rapid changes to the American healthcare system, it has never been more important for rheumatologists to make their voices heard. This is why it’s critical ACR members join or renew their membership in the American Medical Association (AMA)…
The Biomarkers of Lupus Disease Study
Most SLE clinical trials continue standard background medications being taken by patients at entry, based on assumptions that this minimizes the risk of serious flares and that immunologic interference is minimal. These assumptions are not evidence based, but eliminating polypharmacy in trials studying patients with active lupus remains controversial. These researchers tested the withdrawal of immunosuppressants to make SLE trial results more interpretable…
Medicaid Cuts Coming in Trump Budget
WASHINGTON (Reuters)—U.S. President Donald Trump’s budget proposal, set to be unveiled on Tuesday, will include cuts to Medicaid and propose changes to other assistance programs for low-income citizens, The Washington Post reported on Sunday. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A Republican healthcare bill that passed the U.S. House…
Trump Administration Asks for Time to Weigh Obamacare Subsidies
WASHINGTON (Reuters)—The Trump administration and U.S. House of Representatives Republicans on Monday asked a federal court for more time to decide how to proceed on the cost-sharing subsidies paid to health insurers that play a vital role in the Obamacare healthcare law. In a joint filing submitted to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the…
ACR Leaders & Volunteers Take the Issues to the Decision Makers
On May 11, ACR leaders representing the Board of Directors, Affiliate Society Council, Government Affairs Committee (GAC), Committee on Rheumatologic Care, RheumPAC Committee and Insurance Subcommittee went to Capitol Hill to advocate on behalf of the ACR/ARHP membership and our patients. The group, which represents 27 states and the District of Columbia, conducted meetings in…
ACR Holds Its Ground Amid Rapid-Fire Changes in D.C.
Greetings from your advocacy team in Washington, D.C.! The tectonic plates of the U.S. political landscape continue to shift. The latest: President Trump fired FBI Director James Comey on Tuesday, May 16; since then, Congress and journalists have had very little bandwidth for much else. But healthcare advocates remember just several news cycles ago when…
Trainees Discuss Pros, Cons of Rheumatology Residency Rotation
One day not too long ago, right smack in the middle of Thanksgiving and Christmas, I was sitting at the roundtable of our conference room, also known as the solarium due to its sunny disposition. The spirit was high, and we all felt like we could bring some joy to the clinic that day. I…
The Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors Unleashed to Fight Cancer
A 53-year-old female presented to the clinic for severe polyarticular joint pain and was found to have a seronegative inflammatory arthritis. Six months before, she had completed 10 months of treatment for stage IV metastatic melanoma with the immune checkpoint inhibitors, nivolumab and ipilimumab, achieving complete remission of her cancer. She said that throughout her…
Active Advocacy in the Sunshine State: Florida Society Presses for Legislative Changes to Protect Patient Access to Medications
At their state capitol in Tallahassee on March 28, seven board members of the Florida Society of Rheumatology (FSR) lobbied to support legislation regarding prior authorization, step therapy and non-medical switching. They also educated lawmakers about rheumatic diseases and how access to the right therapy may dramatically improve patients’ lives. “We talked about the problems encountered…
Alliance Working to Rein in Power of PBMs
A coalition of patient and provider groups, including the ACR, is raising awareness about the effect of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) on patient care and the cost of prescription drugs. The Alliance for Transparent and Affordable Prescriptions, or ATAP, argues that too few restrictions have been placed on PBM transparency, and requirements for PBMs to…
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