WASHINGTON (Reuters)—Republicans delivered their biggest blow yet to Obamacare in their tax overhaul that won final congressional approval on Wednesday, and delayed until 2018 consideration of legislation that could help mitigate some of the damage to the 2010 law. The $1.5 trillion tax bill, the biggest overhaul of the U.S. tax code in three decades…

Rheumatologist Deborah Desir Brings Advocacy, Fundraising to the Home Front
When former ACR President Joseph Flood, MD, tapped Deborah Dyett Desir, MD, to volunteer for an ACR committee, he might have assumed that her preference would be to serve on the Committee on Rheumatologic Care or its Insurance Subcommittee. After all, Dr. Desir is in private practice at the Arthritis and Osteoporosis Center PC in…
The ACR Maintains Seat at the AMA Table, Achieves Successful Resolutions at HOD Meeting
Together our voice is heard; our influence is alive. In 2017, ACR members heard the call of the Rheumatology Strong campaign and joined the American Medical Association (AMA) in force, ensuring the College maintains its representation in the country’s largest—and arguably most influential—physician society. “We surpassed our minimum 1,000-member goal by a margin and are hopeful…

Legislative Successes in 2017: Rheumatologists lead the push in Congress for access to care, research funding, transparency in drug pricing
SAN DIEGO—The 2017 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting, Nov. 3–8, presented opportunities to highlight its 2017 legislative advocacy victories, some of which were resolved just weeks before the conference began, as well as issues that are still outstanding. In the session, Legislative & Regulatory Update 2017, Angus Worthing, MD, chair of the ACR’s Government Advocacy Committee and…
With No Deal on Children’s Health Plan, U.S. States Scramble for Plan B
NEW YORK/WASHINGTON (Reuters)—For Nancy Minoui of Portland, Oregon, and Crystal Lett of Dublin, Ohio, Congress’ failure to fund the Children’s Health Insurance Program is not some distant tale of political wrangling. For Minoui, it’s about how to provide care for her daughter, Marion Burgess, born last Valentine’s Day with a hole in her heart. For…
Obamacare Sign-Ups Rise to 1 Million as Pace Picks Up Before Deadline
NEW YORK (Reuters)—The number of consumers who signed up for 2018 Obamacare health insurance next year surpassed the 1 million mark in the second-to-last week of enrollment on the federally-run HealthCare.gov website, picking up the pace ahead of the December 15 deadline. Through December 9, 4.68 million consumers signed up for the insurance in the 39 states…

The ACR Lobbies Against New Part B Drug Cost Adjustment Rule
The ACR and a number of other physician medical associations are lobbying for an immediate legislative fix to a piece of the MACRA law that factors high-cost Part B drugs into a rheumatology practice’s Medicare reimbursement rate through the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS). This change, which goes into effect immediately, will impact practices in…
Consumers with High-Deductible Health Plans Could Be Smarter Shoppers
(Reuters Health)—Even when consumers have health plans that require them to pay a high amount out-of-pocket for care, they often don’t talk to doctors about the price of treatments or shop around to get the best deal, a U.S. study suggests. Researchers focused on high-deductible health plans, which typically have lower monthly premiums than other…
Sen. Lisa Murkowski Addresses Rheumatologists During ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting, Tax Reform & More
Greetings, advocates! This month’s Washington update covers how Congress’s tax proposals affect rheumatology, the ACR’s plan to fight Medicare’s adjustments to Part B drug costs in MIPS, the good news of Medicare’s new individualized biosimilar reimbursement, advances in the rheumatology-specific Alternative Payment Model and developments in Congress’s awareness about the perilous pharmacy benefit manager system….
Nearly 1.5 Million People Signed Up for Obamacare Plans So Far
WASHINGTON (Reuters)—More than 800,000 people signed up for Obamacare individual health insurance plans in the second week of open enrollment, U.S. government health officials said on Wednesday, bringing the total number of sign-ups to nearly 1.5 million so far. There is particular scrutiny of how Affordable Care Act programs are faring after a year in…
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