As the 115th Congress and the Trump administration consider potential reforms to the healthcare system, including actions related to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), physicians around the country remain vitally concerned about the need to preserve and improve access to care for their patients. To that end, the ACR continues to lobby for policies that…

2015 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting: Global Challenges in Rheumatic Disease Care
SAN FRANCISCO—To convey the plight of rheumatology patients in sub-Saharan Africa, Girish Mody, MD, head of rheumatology at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa and past president of the African League of Associations for Rheumatology, recounted a story during the 2015 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting from the World Health Organization about a diabetes patient. The…
Bigger May Not Be Better for China’s ‘Super Hospitals’
ZHENGZHOU, China (Reuters)—Just before midnight, the pavement outside the glowing high-rise towers of the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University is littered with slumbering bodies. Splayed on colourful mats or tucked into folding cots, these are patients’ relatives. Inside, beds line hallways and crowd elevator lobbies, while relatives share gurneys with patients and doze in…

Proposed Medicaid Rule May Benefit Rheumatologists
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is attempting to update the reimbursement process for Medicaid, which might relieve administrative burdens on specialists and improve access to services.
Medicare Participation Numbers Don’t Tell the Whole Story
Although HHS reports no significant changes in Medicare participation for office-based physicians, the numbers may be misleading. (posted Oct. 16, 2013)