So far it has been a busy year for the Affiliate Society Council (ASC). Forty-three states are now affiliated with the ACR through the ASC, and we may add another next year. Also, many state legislative sessions have wrapped up, so it’s a great time to provide an overview of the successes—and some of the…
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—After an immune-related adverse event, the risk-reward ratio for an anti-PD-1 (anti-programmed death-1) or anti-PD-L1 (anti-programmed death ligand-1) rechallenge seems to be acceptable if patients are closely monitored, researchers say. “The immune checkpoint inhibitors anti-PD-1 and anti-PD-L1 have proven efficacy in the treatment of many cancers, but patients may experience immune-related adverse…
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Monotherapy with the JAK1-selective inhibitor upadacitinib is effective in patients with active rheumatoid arthritis who have an inadequate response to methotrexate, according to results from the SELECT-MONOTHERAPY phase 3 trial. As many as two-thirds of patients with rheumatoid arthritis receiving methotrexate monotherapy fail to achieve satisfactory disease control. Oral therapy with upadacitinib…
GENEVA (Reuters)—Governments are working on a drug pricing transparency deal at the World Health Organization’s (WHO) annual assembly, but activists said on Thursday they fear crucial costs may be left out, enabling pharmaceutical firms to keep prices high. Campaigners say some drugs are exhorbitantly priced, even though they are often developed with public funding, and…
In U.S. medical society boardrooms, far from legislative chambers, social conflict is forcing board members to deal with laws that raise issues of medical ethics. Take the Association of University Radiologists (AUR), a group of more than a thousand medical school radiology faculty whose stated mission is to “inspire and educate the academic radiology community.”…
Greetings from Washington, D.C., where ACR leaders just held more than 100 meetings on Capitol Hill supporting reforms to step therapy and prior authorization, increased reimbursement for dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), solutions to the rheumatology workforce shortage, and rheumatology-specific research at the Pentagon. We’re already hearing great news about our successes: Hours after our visit,…
Dozens of rheumatology leaders met with more than 100 politicos on Capitol Hill in mid-May, per the ACR’s annual Advocacy Leadership Conference. Armed with research and advocacy training concerning a handful of important issues, rheumatologists, researchers, government affairs specialists and others met with federal lawmakers, legislative aides and correspondents. The two-day conference, which featured the…
WASHINGTON (Reuters)—U.S. President Donald Trump called on Congress on Thursday to pass legislation to protect patients from surprise medical bills from out-of-network doctors that can unnecessarily cost patients tens of thousands of dollars. In remarks at the White House, Trump unveiled principles the administration will send to congressional lawmakers to incorporate into a legislative package…
WASHINGTON (Reuters)—U.S. President Donald Trump slammed the pharmaceutical industry for high prices of prescription drugs on Thursday and vowed to allow U.S. states to buy medicines from other countries if they cost less. Trump, who campaigned on a platform to reduce drug prices for U.S. consumers, has taken few concrete steps to lower medication costs…
(Reuters)—U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on Wednesday said it will require drugmakers to disclose the list price for their prescription drugs in direct-to-consumer television advertisements, part of the Trump administration’s efforts to lower costs for U.S. consumers. The list price should be included if it is equal to or greater than $35 for…