Greetings, Advocates! In my last update, I described the great news from February’s budget agreement that fixed Medicare’s payment adjustments so MIPS penalties would not include Part B drug costs, ensuring stabilization of the Medicare Part B drug system, among other successes. (Read the ACR’s press release on this topic.) I also described the Trump administration’s…
ACR Advocacy: Past Wins, Future Outlook
Greetings, advocates! Your government is back to work after ending a brief government shutdown by passing a short-term continuing resolution (CR), which will keep the government running at current funding levels into February. At some point, it would be great for Congress to pass a budget (instead of a CR) and to enact bipartisan plans…
Sen. Lisa Murkowski Addresses Rheumatologists During ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting, Tax Reform & More
Greetings, advocates! This month’s Washington update covers how Congress’s tax proposals affect rheumatology, the ACR’s plan to fight Medicare’s adjustments to Part B drug costs in MIPS, the good news of Medicare’s new individualized biosimilar reimbursement, advances in the rheumatology-specific Alternative Payment Model and developments in Congress’s awareness about the perilous pharmacy benefit manager system….
Keeping the Pressure on Congress: ACR Opposes Medicare Payment Adjustment Plan, Executive Order
Greetings, advocates! Here’s a brief, interim hodgepodge of updates to keep you posted on government advocacy before the deluge of information swamps you in San Diego. The Next Big Thing: Part B Drug Reimbursements Medicare currently plans to adjust reimbursement of doctors in the MIPS program in 2019, not only based on E/M office services,…
ACR Pushes for Patient Interests, Against Spending Cuts
Greetings from Washington, D.C. Your advocacy team had another busy month. Unlike my prior updates, and in order to keep our focus on health policy, I avoid mentioning anything about Washington investigations into obstruction of justice, collusion, etc. You get enough of that elsewhere. The Healthcare Bill Obamacare repeal and reform efforts are speeding up….