Regarding the drug-pricing system: The ACR encourages lawmakers and regulators to address the problems of the PBM–pharma relationship, in which rebate payments encourage higher prices, not lower prices. The good news: Lawmakers are acting. Congress continues to look into PBMs; 17 state bills have been introduced; and on Feb. 23, Virginia passed the country’s first PBM legislation of 2018.
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Regarding biosimilars: The ACR, alongside state and federal lawmakers, advocates for a smooth transition to an era of less expensive biologics that provide safe, effective treatments that are accessible to more people. Also, in order to provide useful educational content, on Feb. 7, the ACR published a biosimilars white paper in Arthritis & Rheumatology. It was an honor to participate in this project, with the aim of providing information on the scientific, clinical and economic issues surrounding biosimilars. The ACR biosimilars white paper is open access—please read and share it.
Regulatory Advocacy
Aside from your advocacy team’s efforts on Capitol Hill, I’m glad to report that the ACR has expanded its efforts to influence federal agencies, such as the HHS, CMS and FDA, on behalf of our profession and our patients. In 2017, the ACR more than doubled the number of letters submitted to federal agencies. Topics varied. Example: As Congress appears to be backing off from overarching efforts to repeal and replace Obamacare, the Trump administration continues to propose regulatory reforms that will affect our patients’ access to continuous health insurance and coverage for important services and treatments. The ACR has written several letters to federal policymakers thus far in 2018 about promoting healthcare choice and competition and reducing out-of-pocket costs for prescriptions. We also supported the FDA’s plan to close a loophole in drug development for pediatric orphan diseases. You can check out the ACR letters to the U.S. government here.
Committee Volunteer Acknowledgments
I would like to give shout-outs to all of our dedicated volunteers, including the following:
- Tamar Rubenstein, MD, Chris Morris, MD, Ethan Craig, MD and Chris Phillips, MD, and Ms. Karla Jones, RN, MS, CPNP, along with other ACR leaders, who comprise a new working group that write the comment letters to federal agencies described above;
- Zach Wallace, MD, the ACR’s Government Affairs Committee (GAC) liaison to the ACR Annual Meeting Planning Committee, is putting together another can’t-miss advocacy program for the 2018 Annual Meeting in Chicago; and
- Ethan Craig, MD, Christina Downey, MD, Stephanie Ott, MD and Chap Sampson, MD, led GAC’s annual health policy update, which the ACR Board of Directors approved on Feb. 24. Check out the updated section on MACRA, PBMs, biosimilars and more.
Build RheumPAC & the Foundation
There are two ways you can help ensure the future of our profession: Invest in RheumPAC, which provides your advocacy team with critical relationships in Washington, D.C., and the Rheumatology Research Foundation, which, as you may know, is the largest private funder of rheumatology research and also funds much of the training for our future workforce. Donate today.