Rheumatology Priorities Advanced at Busy AMA House of Delegates Meeting

The ACR and its delegation to the American Medical Association (AMA) House of Delegates (HOD) capped a busy and highly successful annual HOD meeting June 9–14 in Chicago. Hundreds of delegates from medical specialty societies and state medical associations gather at two AMA HOD meetings each year—in June and November—to set the policy and direction for the nation’s largest and most powerful physician organization.

Both of the ACR’s resolutions at this meeting—addressing the current National Institutes of Health (NIH) Public Access Plan and in-office dispensing of specialty drugs—were successfully passed with no changes in the HOD and will be adopted by the AMA. The ACR delegation also worked to shape policy discussions in a number of other areas affecting members, including use of biosimilars. Other topics addressed at the HOD meeting included updates to Medicare Physician Fee Schedule payments, budget cuts and budget neutrality issues, approaches to sustaining community practices, artificial intelligence in healthcare, prior authorization and many more.

The ACR’s delegation (L-R): Gary Bryant, MD; Adam Cooper, MS; Christina Downey, MD; Luke Barré, MD; Cristina Arriens, MD; Eileen Moynihan, MD; and Colin Edgerton, MD.

The new resolutions add to a long list of ACR-developed policies and directives previously passed by the AMA, addressing copay accumulator policy, third-party pharmacy benefit administrators, stakeholder engagement with Medicare Administrative Contractors, payer financial incentives to switch treatments, selective application of prior authorization, step therapy in Medicare Advantage, biosimilar interchangeability pathways, ensuring an effective H-1B visa program to enhance the rheumatology workforce, drug pricing, drug cost attribution in quality payment programs, pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) reform, opposing the previous Medicare Part B drug payment demonstration and more.

NIH Public Access Plan

Resolution 610, which addresses the proposed NIH Public Access Plan, was developed by the ACR in conjunction with 10 other specialty societies.

Joining the ACR in raising concerns and calling for AMA involvement as cosponsors of this resolution were the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology; American Academy of Neurology; American College of Physicians; American Society of Anesthesiologists; American Society of Hematology; American Society for Radiation Oncology; American Thoracic Society; American Urological Association; Association for Clinical Oncology; and Endocrine Society. Resolution 610 also gained support in many caucuses and section councils, and support was expressed by the American Academy of Pediatrics, Cancer Caucus, Dermatology Section Council, Radiology Section Council, Pain and Palliative Medicine Section Council, American Psychiatric Association and Psychiatry Section Council and many others, as well as the Specialty and Service Section that represents more than half of the House and 125 different specialties.