The ACR consistently urges Congress to support issues relating to rheumatologists, rheumatology health professionals, and patients. The primary advocacy goals are: supporting of the “Arthritis Prevention, Control, and Cure Act of 2007” (H.R.1283/S.626) and the “Access to Medicare Imaging Act of 2007” (H.R.1293/S.1338), finding a permanent solution to the Medicare reimbursement issue, and increasing funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH)—including the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases—and other agencies, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Medical and Prosthetic Research Program.
In 2007, the ACR encouraged Congress to increase NIH funding of the FY2008 budget by 6.7%. Funding would be allocated to federal programs engaged in research to combat arthritis and related diseases.
This year, the ACR will urge Congress to support an NIH funding increase for FY2009. Support for NIH programs is essential for continuing the search for innovative treatments that can help millions of Americans live longer, healthier, and more productive lives and is critical for developing more effective treatments, decreasing costs, and improving the quality of life for patients suffering from rheumatic diseases.
Join us to express your support for increased research programs that treat and prevent arthritis and related diseases at the ACR’s “Advocates for Arthritis” program on February 25–26 in Washington, D.C.
For more information, contact Aiken Hackett, ACR government affairs specialist, at (404) 633-3777 or [email protected].
