The new chair of the ACR’s Pediatric Rheumatology Committee, Ekemini A. Ogbu, MD, MSc, FAAP, describes how helping children and families navigate complex care brings a sense of fulfillment, purpose and “just joy.”
In 2024, key federal healthcare regulations and policy developments—related to health insurance, privacy protections, reimbursement, biosimilar use and more—shaped the landscape of the practice of rheumatology in several important ways.
At a busy and highly successful interim meeting of the AMA House of Delegates, an ACR-cosponsored resolution that calls for exceptions to therapy caps was passed and will become AMA policy. Other areas addressed include payment parity for telemedicine and MIPS reform.
Experts addressed how education and follow-up for patients with gout can improve disease management and highlighted the need for a better construction of gout remission.
WASHINGTON, D.C.—The workforce shortage in rheumatology is a looming crisis that demands immediate attention. The ACR’s 2015 Workforce Study projected that by 2030, the supply of adult rheumatologists would dwindle by 31%, in contrast to the increase in demand by close to 138%.1 The situation is even worse for pediatric rheumatology and in rural and…
The 2025 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule final rule, released Nov. 1, includes a conversion factor of $32.3465, a 2.83% drop from 2024. In response to advocacy efforts from the ACR and other medical societies, Congress recently introduced the Medicare Patient Access and Practice Stabilization Act of 2024, which would eliminate the 2.83% payment cut and provide an inflationary update for 2025 equal to 50% of the Medicare Economic Index.
With a likely Republican majority in the House and Senate and a Republican president, there may be a sense that the party has a mandate to lead initiatives and enact significant policy changes. Any end-of-year legislative package will be narrower than initially expected, but the ACR’s top priority remains addressing cuts to physician reimbursements.
Medicare physician reimbursement and extension of telehealth flexibilities are two of the ACR’s top legislative priorities as Congress approaches the lame duck session. With physicians facing a 2.8% cut under the 2025 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule proposed rule and telehealth flexibilities set to expire at the end of this year, Congress must hear from the…