The Rheumatologist
COVID-19 News
  • Connect with us:
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • Feed
  • Home
  • Conditions
    • Rheumatoid Arthritis
    • SLE (Lupus)
    • Crystal Arthritis
      • Gout Resource Center
    • Spondyloarthritis
    • Osteoarthritis
    • Soft Tissue Pain
    • Scleroderma
    • Vasculitis
    • Systemic Inflammatory Syndromes
    • Guidelines
  • Resource Centers
    • Axial Spondyloarthritis Resource Center
    • Gout Resource Center
    • Psoriatic Arthritis Resource Center
    • Rheumatoid Arthritis Resource Center
    • Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Resource Center
  • Drug Updates
    • Biologics & Biosimilars
    • DMARDs & Immunosuppressives
    • Topical Drugs
    • Analgesics
    • Safety
    • Pharma Co. News
  • Professional Topics
    • Ethics
    • Legal
    • Legislation & Advocacy
    • Career Development
      • Certification
      • Education & Training
    • Awards
    • Profiles
    • President’s Perspective
    • Rheuminations
    • Interprofessional Perspective
  • Practice Management
    • Billing/Coding
    • Quality Assurance/Improvement
    • Workforce
    • Facility
    • Patient Perspective
    • Electronic Health Records
    • Apps
    • Information Technology
    • From the College
    • Multimedia
      • Audio
      • Video
  • Resources
    • Issue Archives
    • ACR Convergence
      • Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Resource Center
      • Rheumatoid Arthritis Resource Center
      • Gout Resource Center
      • Abstracts
      • Meeting Reports
      • ACR Convergence Home
    • American College of Rheumatology
    • ACR ExamRheum
    • Research Reviews
    • ACR Journals
      • Arthritis & Rheumatology
      • Arthritis Care & Research
      • ACR Open Rheumatology
    • Rheumatology Image Library
    • Treatment Guidelines
    • Rheumatology Research Foundation
    • Events
  • About Us
    • Mission/Vision
    • Meet the Authors
    • Meet the Editors
    • Contribute to The Rheumatologist
    • Subscription
    • Contact
  • Advertise
  • Search
You are here: Home / Articles / Advocates for Arthritis Push for Policy Changes at Annual Event

Advocates for Arthritis Push for Policy Changes at Annual Event

September 24, 2018 • By From the College

  • Tweet
  • Email
Print-Friendly Version / Save PDF

The ACR advocates on behalf of the rheumatology community throughout the year, but it’s always especially exciting when patients join our efforts in Washington, D.C. Close to 100 patients, rheumatologists and representatives of the broader interprofessional team traveled to our nation’s capital this week to participate in the ACR’s annual Advocates for Arthritis event.

You Might Also Like
  • Advocates for Arthritis Fly-In Event Benefits Rheumatology Patients
  • The ACR’s Advocates for Arthritis Volunteers Meet with Congress
  • Advocates for Arthritis Will Target Step Therapy, Workforce Shortage
Also By This Author
  • Access 2020 Campaign Update

Participants began the conference on Monday with an in-depth, day-long issues education and training program. In addition to learning basics and best practices for advocacy, participants also reviewed the issues they would discuss with lawmakers during the week. Ensuring patient access to high-quality rheumatology care was top of the agenda this week, with advocates discussing such issues as step therapy, funding for arthritis research, patient access to osteoporosis testing and proposed physician payment reforms with their lawmakers.

ad goes here:advert-1
ADVERTISEMENT
SCROLL TO CONTINUE

Advocates raised the alarm that relationships between patients, doctors and rheumatology interprofessional team members are under threat by a proposal to cut Medicare evaluation and management services. They asked Congress to intervene, because there is already concern that these time-intensive services—which include examinations, disease diagnosis and risk assessments and care coordination—are already grossly undercompensated. Further cuts would threaten access to care and exacerbate the rheumatology workforce shortage.

Doctors, rheumatology interprofessional team members and patients alike also advocated for Congressional action to increase access to dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), a bone density test. The test identifies patients at high risk of bone fracture and is used to monitor the effectiveness of medical therapy. Medicare reimbursement for DXA has dropped by 70% since 2007 and no longer covers the cost for the provider to administer the test, forcing patients to seek scans in more expensive settings, such as hospitals.

ad goes here:advert-2
ADVERTISEMENT
SCROLL TO CONTINUE

Patient advocates were also able to share their frustrations with the insurer practice of step therapy (aka fail first), which forces patients to try—and fail—an insurer’s preferred therapy before insurance will cover the therapy prescribed by the patient’s doctor. In addition to sharing their personal experiences, advocates also asked legislators to support the Restoring the Patient’s Voice Act (H.R. 2077). This legislation would put patients first by creating a clear and transparent process for patients with employer-sponsored insurance to seek exceptions to mandated step therapy.

This year’s agenda also included a request for dedicated, line-item research funding for arthritis. The Department of Defense’s Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program (CDMRP) is designed to fund medical research for the benefit of U.S. service members, but even though arthritis affects one in three veterans (compared with one in four civilians) and is the second leading cause of medical discharge from the Army, arthritis is not a research topic with specific, dedicated CDMRP funding. Advocates asked Congress to address this oversight so patients who suffer can benefit from groundbreaking research.

Pages: 1 2 | Single Page

Filed Under: American College of Rheumatology, From the College, Legislation & Advocacy, Professional Topics Tagged With: 2018 Advocates for Arthritis, Association of Rheumatology Professionals (ARP), Department of the Defense (DoD), dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), Medicare evaluation and management services, Restoring the Patient’s Voice Act (H.R. 2077), step therapy

You Might Also Like:
  • Advocates for Arthritis Fly-In Event Benefits Rheumatology Patients
  • The ACR’s Advocates for Arthritis Volunteers Meet with Congress
  • Advocates for Arthritis Will Target Step Therapy, Workforce Shortage
  • Advocates for Arthritis: My First Time on the Hill

Meeting Abstracts

Browse and search abstracts from the ACR Convergence and ACR/ARP Annual Meetings going back to 2012.

Visit the Abstracts site »

Rheumatology Research Foundation

The Foundation is the largest private funding source for rheumatology research and training in the U.S.

Learn more »

Simple Tasks

Learn more about the ACR’s public awareness campaign and how you can get involved. Help increase visibility of rheumatic diseases and decrease the number of people left untreated.

Visit the Simple Tasks site »

The Rheumatologist newsmagazine reports on issues and trends in the management and treatment of rheumatic diseases. The Rheumatologist reaches 11,500 rheumatologists, internists, orthopedic surgeons, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, nurses, and other healthcare professionals who practice, research, or teach in the field of rheumatology.

About Us / Contact Us / Advertise / Privacy Policy / Terms of Use

  • Connect with us:
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • Feed

Copyright © 2006–2022 American College of Rheumatology. All rights reserved.

ISSN 1931-3268 (print)
ISSN 1931-3209 (online)