Health insurance plans are increasingly favoring tiered physician networks, which some fear have the potential to limit patient access to such specialties as rheumatology to achieve short-term cost reduction…
U.S. Signs Up 8.2 Million People for Insurance on HealthCare.gov
NEW YORK (Reuters)—The U.S. government signed up 8.2 million people for health insurance through the HealthCare.gov website through Dec. 19, including 2.1 million people from the insurers’ most sought-after demographic: those aged under 35, according to the top health official. That compares with the 6.4 million people who signed up or were automatically signed up…
Looking Back on Rheumatology in 2015, Leaping Forward to the Year Ahead
My dear friends, we come to praise Caesar. As we march toward 2016, we ought to acknowledge the great Roman emperor’s role in creating a proper calendar. At the start of Caesar’s reign, the calendar year lasted 355 days, 10¼ days fewer than the time it took the earth to fully orbit the sun.1 Although…
The ACR Announces Advocacy Priorities for 2016
After its December meeting, the ACR Government Affairs Committee has determined the federal and state issues the College will focus its advocacy efforts on in 2016. These issues include ensuring implementation of the Medicare Access & CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 protects rheumatologists, creating an arthritis research program at the Department of Defense and more…
HealthCare.gov Sign-Ups Exceed Last Year’s Pace
NEW YORK (Reuters)—Enrollment in 2016 individual insurance through the HealthCare.gov website is higher than it was a year ago at this time, with 1 million new customers signed up, U.S. government health officials said on Wednesday. The officials cited the latest enrollment data as a reason for confidence in the long-term stability of HealthCare.gov, which…
Advocating with You—Grassroots Advocacy: Media Outreach 101
Rheumatologists must speak for themselves and their patients, because no one else will speak for us. Advocacy is necessary to educate elected officials and preserve our ability to provide the best care to our patients. One way to reach these officials is through the local media. Here are some tips on how to reach out to reporters, write op-eds and letters, and become a knowledgeable resource for your community…
U.S. House Speaker Ryan Says Obamacare Replacement Plan Coming Next Year
WASHINGTON (Reuters)—U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan said on Thursday that Republicans next year will unveil a plan to replace President Barack Obama’s national healthcare program, widely known as Obamacare, in its entirety as part of a “pro-growth” Republican alternative to Democratic policies. “Next year, we are going to unveil a plan to replace every word…
Annual Meeting Advocacy Recap
Advocacy was front and center at the 2015 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting, and in case you missed something, Will Harvey, MD, provides a summary here…
U.S. Public Health Funding on the Decline
(Reuters Health)—U.S. public health funding, which covers such things as disease prevention, cancer screenings, contraceptives and vaccines, has been steadily falling in recent years and is expected to keep going down, a recent study projects. Real, inflation-adjusted public health expenditures surged from $39 per capita in 1960 to $281 per capita in 2008, then fell…
U.S. Doctor Group Calls for Ban on Drug Advertising to Consumers
(Reuters)—The American Medical Association on Tuesday called for a ban on advertising prescription drugs and medical devices directly to consumers, saying the ads drive patients to demand expensive treatments over less costly ones that are also effective. The influential doctors’ group said the new policy reflects physicians’ concerns that marketing spending on a proliferation of…
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