Legislation & Advocacy

Trump May Not Enforce Individual Health Insurance Mandate

Reuters Staff | January 23, 2017

WASHINGTON (Reuters)—The Trump administration may no longer enforce a rule requiring individual Americans to carry health insurance or pay a penalty if they do not, a senior White House official said on Sunday Speaking on ABC’s “This Week” program, Kellyanne Conway, counselor to the president, said President Donald Trump “may stop enforcing the individual mandate.”…

Former Senator Tim Hutchinson Urges ACR Members to Advocate for Rheumatology on Local, State and Federal Levels

Mary Beth Nierengarte | January 19, 2017

WASHINGTON, D.C.—“Regardless of where we are on the political spectrum, we have to get engaged,” said Sen. Tim Hutchinson, senior director, Greenberg Traurig LLP, Washington, D.C., speaking at the 2016 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting. As a former U.S. senator from Arkansas, Sen. Hutchinson talked about the importance of members in such organizations as the ACR to…

The ACR Government Affairs Committee’s Outgoing Chair Urges Members to Continue Advocating for Rheumatology

Mary Beth Nierengarten | January 18, 2017

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Although political polarization in the U.S. has affected many people’s interest in participating in legislative and advocacy efforts that promote their concerns, William Harvey, MD, MSc, the ACR’s (immediate past) chair of the Government Affairs Committee, encouraged rheumatologists and ACR/ARHP members to remain engaged and get involved with the ACR to fight for issues…

RheumPAC Contributions Needed in 2017 to Educate Federal Policymakers about Rheumatology Concerns, Interests

From the College | January 17, 2017

2016 was an impactful year for ACR advocacy efforts. Last month we reviewed our advocacy accomplishments in 2016, accomplishments that benefited 100% of our members. However, more than 95% of ACR and ARHP members had not invested in RheumPAC by the conclusion of the 2016 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting. Each year, many of the same dedicated…

Step Therapy, Biosimilars among ACR’s 2017 State-Level Priorities

Kelly Tyrrell | January 17, 2017

Opportunities and challenges will continue to face the rheumatology community in 2017. In response to these challenges, the ACR has outlined its federal– and state-level legislative and regulatory healthcare priorities for the year. Howard Blumstein, MD, chair of the ACR Affiliate Society Council, says that achieving at least some of these priorities at the state…

Trump Vows ‘Insurance for Everybody’ in Replacing Obamacare

Reuters Staff | January 17, 2017

WASHINGTON (Reuters)—U.S. President-elect Donald Trump aims to replace Obamacare with a plan that would envisage “insurance for everybody,” he said in an interview with the Washington Post published on Sunday night. Trump did not give the newspaper specifics about his proposals to replace Democratic President Barack Obama’s signature health insurance law, but said the plan…

U.S. Senate to Act on Obamacare Repeal, McConnell Says

Toni Clarke | January 9, 2017

WASHINGTON (Reuters)—The U.S. Senate will take its first steps toward repealing President Barack Obama’s signature healthcare reform act by the end of the week, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said on Sunday. Speaking on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” McConnell said: “There ought not to be a great gap” between repealing the act and replacing…

CMS Cancels Medicare Part B Demonstration Project

From the College | December 16, 2016

When the controversial Medicare Part B Drug Payment Model final rule was not released by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) as expected before Nov. 21, it signaled an increasing likelihood of defeat for the proposed rule—a signal proved true on Dec. 15. A spokesperson for the CMS said, “After considering comments, CMS…

Advocating Where It Counts: A Conversation with Incoming Government Affairs Committee Chair Angus Worthing, MD, FACR, FACP

Carina Stanton | December 14, 2016

As he prepares to take on his newest volunteer role with the ACR, leading the Government Affairs Committee (GAC), Angus Worthing, MD, FACR, FACP, is looking forward to making the most of the opportunities that a unified government can offer the ACR in advocating for rheumatology care. “Advocacy is an investment in our profession—regardless of…

McConnell Will Not Give Timeline for Obamacare Replacement

Patricia Zengerle | December 12, 2016

WASHINGTON (Reuters)—U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) says the Senate will move to repeal President Barack Obama’s healthcare law shortly after Jan. 1, but declined to give a timeline for a plan to replace it. McConnell says the Senate would vote as soon as it returns from its year-end recess to repeal Obamacare. “And…