- The AMA officially opposes MACs using LCAs that could have the effect of restricting coverage or access without providing data and evidentiary review or without issuing associated LCDs and following required stakeholder processes.
- The AMA will advocate and work with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to improve the instructions to MACs regarding development of local coverage policies in such a manner as to prevent LCAs that could have the effect of restricting coverage or access from being adopted without the MAC providing public data, decision criteria and evidentiary review and allowing comment, or without an associated LCD and the required LCD stakeholder review and input process.
- The AMA will work with specialty and state medical societies and other interested stakeholders to identify LCAs that potentially restrict coverage or access and that were issued without the MACs providing opportunities for stakeholder input, public data, decision criteria and evidentiary review and will advocate that CMS require MACs to revise the policies by taking any such proposed changes through an appropriate stakeholder engagement, public data and evidentiary review.
The AMA House of Delegates meetings are significant policy-making endeavors intended to ensure AMA policy and the AMA advocacy agenda reflect the concerns of physician members, including rheumatologists. The ACR’s delegation to the AMA House of Delegates is instrumental to ensuring inclusion of the issues and concerns of rheumatologists and rheumatology professionals in broader conversations about the future of healthcare and the practice of medicine. The ACR thanks members of its delegation to the AMA House of Delegates, who voice the concerns and challenges of rheumatology professionals within the AMA: Gary Bryant, MD (delegate and delegation chair), Eileen Moynihan, MD (delegate), Cristina Arriens, MD (alternate delegate), Colin Edgerton, MD (alternate delegate), Luke Barre, MD (Young Physician Section representative), Christina Downey, MD (Young Physician Section representative), and Rami Diab, MD (Resident and Fellows Section representative).
Rheumatology’s voice and our seats at the AMA table are literally on the line during 2022, because the ACR’s five-year membership review is underway with the AMA House of Delegates. We ask all ACR members to pitch in now and join the AMA to ensure rheumatology can continue to be heard in these discussions and processes.
