However, it is important to emphasize that the ACR does not change its strategy in response to legislative issues. Our goal is simply to highlight our expertise and experience in areas that are central to healthcare reform.
Next month, many physicians, health professionals, and patients will descend on Capitol Hill to advocate for you and your patients. Advocates for Arthritis was created to engage ACR/ARHP members and patients in political advocacy and to increase the awareness of rheumatology issues on Capitol Hill. Participants meet with members of Congress and their staff to discuss current legislative issues that affect the rheumatology community. This is a great opportunity for ACR/ARHP members to establish valuable relationships with legislators and staff. I encourage those of you who are unable to participate this year to consider attending this event in future years. These face-to-face meetings are one of the ways that the ACR builds rapport with members of Congress. I also encourage ACR/ARHP members who can’t join us on Capitol Hill this year to remain active at the grassroots level by sharing your opinions on the advocacy list serve and periodically contacting your members of Congress via e-mail, telephone, or in person on matters that are meaningful to you.
The ACR is also beginning to get involved at the state level. In January, I had the opportunity to speak at the 15th Annual Women in Government (WIG) Conference in St. Petersburg, Fla. on rheumatoid arthritis in women. WIG is a bipartisan nonprofit organization of women state legislators (from veterans to first-termers) providing leadership opportunities, networking, expert forums, and educational resources to address and resolve complex public policy issues. Healthcare has always been a focus for the group. I was pleased to learn that WIG has a strong interest in RA. In fact, this year WIG released their “Rheumatoid Arthritis Task Force Policy Recommendations for States” (www.womeningovernment.org). The conference was an opportunity to share information regarding RA with state legislators, to explain the ACR legislative agenda, and to begin a discussion regarding how the ACR can collaborate with WIG to help move our agenda forward. It was a great privilege to meet these remarkable women who were each leaders in their own communities with a genuine commitment to make a difference in the lives of their constituents. They were quite an inspiring group! I now encourage all of you to continue this conversation by personally contacting legislators in your state and letting them know your concerns with RA, such as the Tier 4 issue, and begin to enlist their support in solving these problems.
