ACR Convergence 2025| Video: Rheum for Everyone, Episode 26—Ableism

An official publication of the ACR and the ARP serving rheumatologists and rheumatology professionals

Pricey Arthritis Drug Effective in Small Fraction of Ulcerative Colitis Cases

Gene Emery  |  

NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Pfizer’s expensive arthritis drug tofacitinib has been shown to produce a remission in nearly 1 in 5 patients with moderate to severe ulcerative colitis, but long-term remission persists in fewer than half of those cases. In a series of studies published in the May 4 New England Journal of Medicine, researchers reported…

U.S. Democrats Criticize Senate’s All-Male Healthcare Group

John Whitesides & Sarah N. Lynch  |  

WASHINGTON (Reuters)—U.S. Democrats on Sunday criticized the lack of women on a working group in the Republican-led Senate that will craft a plan to pass legislation to repeal and replace Obamacare. As the Senate begins to wrestle with a Republican healthcare bill narrowly approved by the House of Representatives last week, senators questioned why the…

Pregabalin Is Ineffective for Sciatica

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A recent small-scale study examined the efficacy of pregabalin in the treatment of neuropathic pain caused by sciatica, as well as its associated low back pain. Researchers found the treatment did not reduce leg pain better than placebo and resulted in more adverse events…

Republican Moves on Obamacare Cloud Insurers’ 2018 Plans

Caroline Humer  |  

NEW YORK (Reuters)—U.S. Republicans may be moving ahead with a vote to repeal Obamacare, but the uncertainty about what a national health law may look like is clouding insurers’ decisions on whether to stay in the individual insurance market in 2018. Republicans do plan to vote on the U.S. House of Representatives bill, the American…

Arthritis Awareness Month: 5 Ways to Get Involved

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In early March, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a new report showing that the number of Americans living with arthritis is at an all-time high. According to the report, 54 million Americans now live with arthritis, and approximately 79 million will have arthritis by 2040. This stark picture comes at a…

CMS Notifying Clinicians of Their MIPS Status

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According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the Medicare Administrative Contractors (MACs) that process Medicare Part B claims have begun informing providers of their participation status in the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS). This information is coming in the form of hard-copy letters that started mailing in late April and will continue…

Noridian Updates Tendon Injections Guidelines for Jurisdiction F

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Effective May 22, 2017 Noridian has updated the Local Coverage Determination (LCD) coding guidelines for CPT procedures 20552, injection(s); single or multiple trigger point(s), 1 or 2 muscle(s) and 20553, injection(s); single or multiple trigger point(s), 3 or more used to affect therapy for a pathological condition. Noridian states the goal of the updated diagnostic…

U.S. Accuses UnitedHealth of Medicare Advantage Fraud

Nate Raymond  |  

(Reuters)—The U.S. Justice Department (DOJ) has accused UnitedHealth Group Inc. of obtaining inflated payments from the government based on inaccurate information about the health status of patients enrolled in its largest Medicare Advantage Plan.1 The complaint, filed in federal court in Los Angeles on Monday, came after the DOJ earlier this year intervened in two…

California Asks Insurers to Double Up on Rate Filings

Reuters Staff  |  

NEW YORK (Reuters)—Health insurers seeking regulatory approval for 2018 individual insurance plans can file two sets of premium rates as a way to deal with market uncertainty created by Republicans’ promise to repeal and replace Obamacare, a California state insurance regulator said on Friday. California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones told insurers in a letter made…