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Letters to Policy Makers

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Rheumatology advocacy involves several branches of government and various agencies. ACR advocates to Congress, federal agencies, and others by writing or signing on to various policy letters.

2023 Federal Advocacy Letters

ACR Joins Coalition Letter Thanking Senate Leaders of the Safe Step Act for Introducing the Legislation to Create Guardrails for Step Therapy Protocols – 5/11/2023

ACR Joins Coalition Letter Thanking Senate Leaders of the Help Ensure Lower Patient Copays Act (HELP Copays Act) for Introducing the Legislation to Increase Access to Medications – 5/10/2023

ACR Joins Coalition Letter to Congress Endorsing The Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act Which Would Fund 14,000 Additional Graduate Medical Education Training Positions Through Medicare – 5/8/2023

ACR Letter Addressing the High Prices of Drugs Covered under Medicare Part B – 5/5/2023

ACR Joins Letter to House Original Co-Sponsors of the Strengthening Medicare for Patients and Providers Act Thanking them for the Legislation Which Would Apply a Permanent Inflation-Based Update to the MPFS Conversion Factor – 5/3/2023

ACR Comments on IRA Drug Price Negotiation Guidance – 4/14/2023

ACR Joins 75+ Health Organizations Urging Congress to Support Permanent Protections for DACA Recipients – 3/21/2023

ACR Responds to the Senate Health, Education, Pension, & Labor Committee (HELP) Request for Information (RFI) on the Healthcare Workforce Shortage – 3/20/2023

ACR Joins Coalition Letter Asking for $60 million for the CDC Arthritis Research Program (additional letter also sent to Senate leadership) – 3/16/2023

ACR Joins AMA Letter Urging Congress to Provide Inflation-Based Physician Payment Updates based on the full Medicare Economic Index (MEI) – 3/15/2023

ACR Joins AMA Letter to Congressional Leadership Urging Congress to Update Medicare Physician Payments Annually Based on the full Medicare Economic Index (MEI) – 3/15/2023

ACR Joins Letter Thanking Congressional Champions for Reintroducing the “Resident Education Deferred Interest (REDI) Act” to Combat Medical Student Loan Debt – 3/9/2023

ACR Urges CMS to Revisit Copay Assistance Policy in Benefit of Payment and Parameters Proposed Rule – 1/25/2023

ACR Joins 103 Other Organizations to Urge the New Congress to Reform the Medicare Payment System – 1/23/2023

ACR Joins Coalition Letter Asking Congress to Stop the 4.5% Cut to Medicare Reimbursements – 12/5/2022

ACR Joins Coalition Letter Asking Congress to Enact the Fiscal Year 2023 Defense Appropriations Act to Fully Fund the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs in Fiscal Year 2023 – 11/21/2022

ACR Provides Comments on MACRA In Response to Congressional RFI – 10/31/2022

ACR and Other Medical Organizations Ask Congress to Pass the Supporting Medicare Providers Act of 2022 Before the Scheduled Cuts to Reimbursements Are Enacted on January 1, 2023 – 9/30/2022

ACR Comments on the CY23 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule and Quality Payment Program – 9/6/2022

ACR Joins 62 Other Organizations in Urging Congress to Pass the Conrad State 30 and Physician Access Reauthorization Act Before the End of the 117th Congress (a companion letter was sent to the Senate) – 7/29/2022

ACR Joins Coalition Letter to Congress Asking for Mitigating Action in Response to Payment Reductions in Recent Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Rule and Impending Cuts to Medicare Reimbursement – 7/27/2022

ACR Joins AMA Statement in Response to Kelley v. Becerra Lawsuit in Texas Which Threatens Patient Access to Preventative Care – 7/25/2022

ACR Leads Letter with Targeted Coalition Supporting Reducing Prescription Drug Prices, Suggesting Modifications to the Medicare Drug Pricing Provisions in the Current Reconciliation Package – 7/20/2022

ACR Joins Coalition Letter Asking Congress to Consider the "“Resident Education Deferred Interest (REDI) Act” Among the Potential Policies Being Considered to Combat High Student Loan Debt in the U.S. – 7/15/2022

ACR Joins Letter Urging Congress to Invest Adequate Resources in Patient Impacts of Post-Acute Sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 Infection (PASC) – 7/14/2022

Multispecialty Letter to CMS - Transparency and Stakeholder Involvement in MAC Policymaking – 6/14/2022

ACR Joins Coalition Letter to House Defense Appropriators Supporting Continued and Increased Funding for Biomedical Research Related to Military Service Through the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP) at the Department of Defense (additional letter sent to Senate appropriators) – 6/2/2022

ACR Joins Coalition Letter Emphasizing the Impact of Step Therapy Protocols on Mental Health and Calling on Congress to Include the Safe Step Act in any Mental Health Related Legislative Package – 5/24/2022

ACR Joins the AMA’s Characteristics of a Rational Medicare Physician Payment System, a set of principles providing a framework for payment reform as a first step towards consensus on payment system policy recommendations that work better for patients and physicians, and put an end to the annual advocacy exercise of stopping impending payment cuts – 5/24/2022

ACR Provides Comments to FTC Regarding Pharmacy Benefit Manager Business Practices – 5/23/2022

ACR Leads Coalition Letter to House Appropriators Requesting $30 Million in FY23 for the Pediatric Subspecialty Loan Repayment Program (additional letter sent to Senate appropriators) – 5/17/2022

ACR Joins ATAP Sign-On Letter to FTC Regarding PBMs – 5/11/2022

ACR Joins Coalition Letter Asking for the CDC Arthritis Program (additional letter also sent to Senate leadership) – 4/19/2022

ACR Joins Alliance for Transparent and Accessible Prescriptions Letter to CMS on Medicare Advantage and Part D Proposed Rule Comments – 3/3/2022

ACR Joins Coalition Letter to Urge Congress to Advance the Resident Education Deferred Interest (REDI) Act to Help Offset Cost of Medical Education by Addressing Accrual of Student Loan Interest During Training – 2/25/2022

ACR Joins 95 Other Organizations to Urge Congress to Move Forward on Medicare Payment Reforms – 2/25/2022

ACR Congratulates New FDA Commissioner Robert Califf, MD, MACC – 2/18/2022

Finance Hearing Request Letter: Advancing Prior Authorization Legislation – 1/28/2022

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