2018 is coming to a close, and somehow, I have managed to make it through a year as the physician editor of The Rheumatologist without being sued or fired, so I thought this would be a good time to pause and reflect on lessons learned—and to give thanks. My first lesson: this is a lot of…
In 2018, did you interact with the Medicare payment system, receive payment for a consultation code or worry about the Centers for Medicaid & Medicare Services (CMS) reducing reimbursement through its proposal to combine evaluation and management codes in the Physician Fee Schedule? If your answer to any of those questions is yes, then you…
The ACR continues to actively advocate for certification reform and recently testified to the Continuing Board Certification: Vision for the Future Commission. The Commission is leading a collaborative effort to assess the current state of continuing board certification, and to envision a framework that is relevant and meaningful to physicians, patients, hospitals and health systems….
The ACR’s 2015 Rheumatology Workforce Study Report projects a shortage of 3,800 rheumatologists in the U.S. by 2040. Given the projected rise in the number of adults with arthritis and the anticipated shortfall in the supply of rheumatologists, it is more important than ever to raise awareness about the benefits of early intervention, timely referral and specialized care by a rheumatologist. The ACR’s Board of Directors and advocacy team will be in Washington, D.C., this month to let legislators know how their decisions affect your practices and patients. You can take action—no matter where you are—to help us spread our advocacy messages throughout the month…
A recent Politico article outlined the looming agenda facing Congress as 2018 begins: Fund the government, raise the debt ceiling, modify spending caps, address healthcare subsidies, allocate additional funds for disaster relief, and address the status of millions of undocumented young immigrants.1 Amid all that activity, the ACR, through its Government Affairs Committee (GAC) and…
Persistent Challenges Sometimes the challenges seem neverending. In addition to the rigors of our daily lives as rheumatology health professionals—growing administrative burdens, increasing pressures to fund research and achieve balance in family and personal lives—we face a growing number of challenges related to the rapidly escalating prices of rheumatology treatments. Even more unfortunately, these costs…
In 2017, did you interact with the Medicare payment system, receive payment for a consultation code or worry about the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) reducing reimbursement through its proposed Part B Demonstration Project? If your answer to any of those questions is yes, then you directly benefited from the ACR/ARHP’s advocacy efforts….
SAN DIEGO—Pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) and their impact on drug prices and access to high-cost medications by the patients rheumatologists treat was a major theme at the 2017 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting Nov. 3–8. In one session, industry experts tried to clarify the role for prior authorizations and drug formulary policies and explored ways to constructively…
SAN DIEGO—Doctors vote less frequently than other professionals, even than farmers, reported Sen. Tim Hutchinson, who is the ACR’s lead lobbyist inside the Beltway, during an Introduction to Advocacy workshop at the 2017 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting Nov. 3–8.1 Sen. Hutchinson, who represented Arkansas in the U.S. Senate from 1997–2003 and is now a senior director…
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…