American College of Rheumatology Works with AMA to Strengthen Patient Choice

The ACR is working with the AMA to improve patient choice.

As the number of physicians who accept new and existing Medicare patients shrinks, more seniors are having difficulty accessing quality, affordable care. The Medicare Patient Empowerment Act, H.R. 1700 and S. 1042, introduced by Rep. Tom Price, MD (R-GA) and Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), would address this growing problem. Currently, seniors who wish to see doctors who don’t accept their Medicare insurance must pay for their care entirely out of their own pockets. The Medicare Patient Empowerment Act would allow patients and physicians to enter into private contract arrangements without penalty.

The American Medical Association (AMA) launched a new website, MyMedicare-MyChoice.org, to generate support among physicians and patients. The website includes frequently asked questions, an informational video, patient flyers, and a petition to Congress. The ACR supports improving patient choice and will work to educate rheumatologists about the issue and to secure cosponsors and the final passage of the Medicare Patient Empowerment Act.

There is a saying that if the American Medical Association (AMA) did not exist, we would have to invent it. That is just what Dr. Nathan S. Davis did back in 1845 when he called for a national medical convention and laid the foundation for the establishment of the AMA in 1847. This new group would…

Join the AMA. Don’t join because you agree with everything the AMA does. Join so we, as rheumatologists, will continue to have a voice and make a difference.

As the result of years of coalition work with partners at the AMA, the ACR recently celebrated a major advocacy win when the FTC announced an investigation of PBM business practices. Join or renew your AMA membership before Sept. 1 so the ACR can keep delegate seats to drive action within the AMA.

As 2017 unfolds—a year when MACRA begins, lawmakers take steps to dismantle the health reform efforts of the past eight years, and political uncertainty is the rule—it is imperative that the ACR leverage its advocacy agenda by maintaining its seat at the American Medical Association’s (AMA’s) House of Delegates (HOD), says Gary Bryant, MD, FACP…

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