This past year, the ACR increased advocacy efforts at the state level on several of the critical issues we are working on nationally, such as elimination of or limits on step therapy and specialty tiers, prescriber notification for biosimilar substitution, and development of standardized prior authorization forms. Forty-six state legislatures will convene by Jan. 31. The remaining four state legislatures will convene by April 15. The ACR Government Affairs staff is identifying states and collaborative partners to pursue legislation on our policy agenda. These efforts are carried out in partnership with the 31 local and state members of the Affiliate Society Council and its new chair, Howard Blumstein, MD. Constituent advocates are needed to call state lawmakers, write editorials and provide testimony.
If you’re interested in becoming a key contact for your state, contact the ACR Government Affairs staff at stanner@rheumatology.org.