Hill Visits
The next day was go-time. Hill visits were a mix of virtual and in-person meetings, with in-person the clear favorite among attendees. For the most part, we met with health legislative assistants (HLAs) and not the congresspeople themselves, but that didn’t detract from the experience in the slightest. HLAs research health-related topics and advise elected officials on legislation coming down the pipeline. So, they’re often the most knowledgeable and influential people to chat with when asking for bill support.
Visiting my state representatives in their offices could only be described as awesome. We provided a brief overview of each bill, but we weren’t there to be legislation experts. We were there to bring the impacts of the bills to life with clinical stories from the frontlines.
Writing about a 1,245-patient referral list for The Rheumatologist is one thing; sharing that figure with an elected official who could support legislation to address the workforce shortage is another. Similarly, ranting about how copay accumulator programs prevent my patients from accessing medications while saving insurance companies and pharmacy benefit managers dollars is one thing; sharing these stories with someone who might actually be able to ban these programs is much better.
In many ways, I became a rheumatology advocate by accident. But I can’t stress enough how happy I am to be here. Want to become a deliberate rheumatology advocate? ACR committees and the ALC are great places to start. These were my first Hill visits, but they certainly won’t be my last.
If you are interested in participating in future events like these, you can sign up to get the latest updates on the ACR’s Advocates for Arthritis, to which all ACR/ARP members are welcome to apply. Be the first to know when the application period opens this summer!
Samantha C. Shapiro, MD, is an academic rheumatologist and an affiliate faculty member of the Dell Medical School at the University of Texas at Austin. She received her training in internal medicine and rheumatology at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore. She is also a member of the ACR Insurance Subcommittee.
References
- https://acrabstracts.org/abstract/rheumatology-care-for-the-underserved-in-central-texas/.
- https://www.the-rheumatologist.org/article/lessons-from-caring-for-the-underinsured-uninsured/.
- https://www.rheumatology.org/Practice-Quality/Administrative-Support/Insurance-Advocacy/Tools-Resources.
- Battafarano DF, Ditmyer M, Bolster MB, et al. 2015 American College of Rheumatology Workforce Study: Supply and Demand Projections of Adult Rheumatology Workforce, 2015–2030. Arthritis Care and Research. 2018;70(4):617-626.
- https://www.goodrx.com/insurance/health-insurance/copay-accumulator-programs-cms-ruling.
- https://www.goodrx.com/healthcare-access/patient-advocacy/what-are-manufacturer-copay-cards.
