Rheumatic Care and Support

 

Announcement from the American College of Rheumatology(ACR):

Dear ACR/ARHP members,

Early this morning we watched as Congress passed a sweeping spending agreement and sent the package to the White House for the President's signature. Along with a two-year agreement on spending, the package accomplished four of the College's top policy priorities: 
• Fixed the CMS rule that would have applied payment adjustments to Part B drug reimbursements and penalized physicians for providing high-cost drugs;
• Permanently repealed the arbitrary Medicare therapy caps, which could have affected millions of patients' access to vital rehabilitation services;

• Repealed the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB), which would have had the power to impose cuts on providers without the review and deliberation of the regular legislative process; and
• Eliminated the Medicare Part D "donut hole," supporting our patients' ability to adhere to treatment plans. 
These are incredible victories for the Rheumatology, arthritis, and general medical communities that come after months of sustained advocacy efforts of the ACR and the participation of countless ACR/ARHP members. In particular, the rheumatology community led the charge to stop Medicare payment adjustments on Part B drugs. To those of you who contacted congressional offices, submitted letters to the editor to your local paper, and gave money to RheumPAC - your efforts paid off today. Because of your investment of time, talent, and money to magnify the College's voice on Capitol Hill, Congress heard us loud and clear. Thank you!

Even as we celebrate these victories, there is still much work to do to ensure that the 54 million Americans living with RA and other rheumatologic conditions can continue to access innovative, medically necessary, and life-sustaining care. Stay tuned as we continue to advance policies that provide relief from administrative hassles, boost rheumatology research and training, minimize our workforce shortage, and reduce drug costs so that patients can access innovative, critical treatments.

To address the challenges that lie ahead, it will take all of us pulling together to protect our patients and our profession. Thank you to all members of the ACR and ARHP who regularly take action on behalf of our patients. Thank you also to those members who are contributors to RheumPAC. Investing in RheumPAC is critical to help the ACR build the relationships with Congress that lead to these victories.

The ACR will continue to work for you, so you can be there for your patients.

Thank you,

David Daikh, MD, PhD
ACR President

© 2018 American College of Rheumatology | 2200 Lake Blvd NE | Atlanta, GA 30319 | US

 

This will be a huge help in preserving the needed access to care for patients with rheumatic diseases, especially those requiring some very costly drugs and other prescriptions to maintain a high quality of life and well controlled arthritic conditions and joint protection. 

Good to see much needed help and cooperation from the Congress, Senate , and President.
Mark Fisher MD

 
 

Coming soon.