The ACR needs a total of 1,000 AMA members to retain our seat in the American Medical Association Federation. Membership in the Federation allows the ACR to be represented in important decision-making bodies including the AMA House of Delegates and the AMA Relative Value Update Committee. The House of Delegates sets and adjusts the AMA’s legislative and regulatory agenda and provides opportunities to influence the direction of the AMA’s policy priorities. If rheumatology has no seat at the table, we have no influence on medicine’s public policy agenda. The AMA RUC advises the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services on the value of billing codes. Having rheumatologists on this panel allows the presentation of information on codes relevant to rheumatology. With no seat at the AMA table, rheumatology would have no voice in physician-reimbursement discussions.
Your Action is Needed
Currently, the ACR has significantly fewer than the required 1,000 members needed to preserve our seat. Become a member of the AMA today to ensure that rheumatology retains a stake in policy and reimbursement discussions. You can join at www.ama-assn.org. When you join, please notify Tiffany Schmidt at tschmidt@rheumatology.org so that your membership is counted toward the required total.