If you speak to any advocate for rheumatology, each of us will tell you we’ve had an “a-ha” moment where we learned the importance of advocacy; my own came a dozen years ago. I was meeting with a legislative aide to a local Congressional representative who was a senior member of the committee overseeing Medicare….
The Impact of Joining the AMA
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)…
Anthem Still Weighing 2018 Obamacare Individual Participation
NEW YORK (Reuters)—Anthem Inc on Wednesday said its plans for selling 2018 Obamacare individual plans are still up in the air because of political and regulatory uncertainty, making it the latest health insurer to say questions about continued funding of government subsidies will affect consumers next year. Anthem, the biggest provider of individual health plans,…
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…
Demand for Arthritis Care in America Outstrips Supply of Practicing Rheumatologists
May is National Arthritis Awareness Month. The ACR is committed to ensuring that arthritis and rheumatologic diseases are at the forefront of public awareness—and that better, safer treatments reach Americans in need. Fortunately, the federal government is also doing its part and has just released a major report on the national impact of arthritis. A…
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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