The ACR announced that its physician members, in collaboration with care team members at the Association of Rheumatology Professionals and patients with rheumatic diseases, recently met with 100 congressional offices at the 2023 Advocates for Arthritis annual conference. At the conference, advocates shared their experiences living with rheumatic diseases, explained how insurer policies and Pharmacy Benefit Managers delay rheumatology care and drive up out-of-pocket costs for therapies, and voiced their support for the passing of new legislation that would increase patient access to timely and medically necessary care. The advocates also urged lawmakers to back Pharmacy Benefit Manager reforms as well as the Safe Step Act of 2023 to develop a transparent process allowing patients with employer-sponsored insurance to seek exemptions from step therapy requirements. “Congress [is] where protections from nefarious insurance practices can be enforced. We were pleased to have an audience with members of Congress who understand [that] certain flaws in our health-care system that threaten patient well-being need to be addressed. Congress must work in a bipartisan fashion to erect guardrails around unnecessary insurance barriers that ultimately impact patient health,” concluded Christina Downey, MD, Chair of the ACR’s Committee on Government Affairs.
October 12, 2023