In 1916, a handful of conservation advocates successfully lobbied Congress to create the National Park Service, which now protects more than 85 million acres of U.S. land. Dedicated rheumatology advocacy has lasting effects, too, as evidenced by several policy wins in 2021 and efforts underway for 2022.
Bright spots from this legislative session include utilization management reform, copay accumulator bans and pharmacy benefit manager reform.
The COVID-19 pandemic and response disrupted state legislative sessions and agendas in 2020, leaving many ACR priorities unfulfilled and highlighting the urgent need for vocal rheumatology leaders in Washington, D.C., and state capitols.
Step therapy (or fail first) policies introduce significant barriers to access to effective treatments for patients with rheumatic diseases. They also impose significant administrative and cost burdens on providers and practices. The ACR and ARP are advocating state governments, Congress and regulatory agencies limit the impact of these policies on access to care by creating…
So far it has been a busy year for the Affiliate Society Council (ASC). Forty-three states are now affiliated with the ACR through the ASC, and we may add another next year. Also, many state legislative sessions have wrapped up, so it’s a great time to provide an overview of the successes—and some of the…