Political Advocacy

The ACR advocates on behalf of its members in two key areas. Political Advocacy describes the activities the Government Affairs Committee undertakes regarding pending and proposed legislation that stands to have an impact on our members and their patients. Practice Advocacy describes the activities the College pursues with other bodies, such as insurance carriers and CMS, to ensure that rheumatology care is properly valued.

Advocacy Information & Activities

Visit our Hot Issues page, and see what the ACR is working on now, Here you can find the ACR Issue Briefs, the ACR Legislative Tracking Sheet, the Public Policy Monitor, talking points on numerous pieces of legislation that the ACR is tracking through Congress and recent advocacy and legislative actions completed by the ACR Government Affairs staff.

The Grassroots Action Center offers various methods for members and patients to get involved with ACR advocacy efforts. Our Grassroots Action Center provides access to Capwiz – an ACR tool to easily write your Members of Congress. It also offers information on various ways members and patients can “Take Action Today!”, provides web links to government agencies including the U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Senate and The Congressional Record (Thomas) that can be utilized to search all legislation in Congress, and offers general information on the ACR Advocacy List Serve.

The Advocates for Arthritis program is an annual event held each spring in Washington, D.C. where advocates visit Capitol Hill to discuss current issues affecting rheumatologists and their patients. Participants are urged to continue their advocacy efforts throughout the year.

Learn more about ACR Policy through our online Policy Statements.