Tag Archives: advocate for arthritis

Advocacy Leadership Retreat Banner

Expanding Your Expertise at the Live Yes! Advocacy Leadership Retreat

Big announcement! The Arthritis Foundation is excited to be hosting our top advocacy volunteers from around the country March 9-10, 2020, for the Advocacy Leadership Retreat in Washington, DC.

At the Advocacy Leadership Retreat, participants will gain the tactical skills necessary to mobilize their local communities to break down barriers to care. This 301-style event is designed to provide opportunities for champion-level volunteers to teach and learn from their peers. Continue reading Expanding Your Expertise at the Live Yes! Advocacy Leadership Retreat

Open Enrollment

TAKE CARE: Advocacy Blog Series

It’s Never Too Early to Think About Open Enrollment

We are continuing our advocacy blog series meant to help you take care when it comes to important arthritis health care and coverage issues. If you are just now tuning into this series, check out our previous blog posts on accumulator adjustment programs, pharmacist gag orders, President Trump’s drug pricing blueprint, drug rebates, premium increases, and an update on the Affordable Care Act.

Continue reading TAKE CARE: Advocacy Blog Series

arthritis foundation platinum ambassador assembly

2018 Arthritis Platinum Ambassador Assembly Makes a Big Impact

Scores of the most passionate and vocal champions of the arthritis community recently descended on the nation’s capital to hone their advocacy skills and share their personal stories with each other and with their members of Congress. Attended by nearly 130 participants from 32 states, the Arthritis Foundation’s new Platinum Ambassadors Assembly was held March 12-13.

Platinum Ambassadors are top grassroots volunteers who complete six annual advocacy assignments and raise at least $1,000 to support the Foundation’s mission to conquer and cure arthritis. Forty-eight of our fifty-one Platinum Ambassadors participated in the first-of-its-kind event, along with 25 Junior Ambassadors, young people ages 13 to 17 who speak out for the estimated 300,000 kids in the U.S. who battle arthritis. Also attending were 30 future advocacy leaders, highly-engaged Arthritis Foundation volunteers who have committed to achieving Platinum Ambassador status in 2018.

Continue reading 2018 Arthritis Platinum Ambassador Assembly Makes a Big Impact

2018 Platinum Ambassador Assembly Highlights

Platinum Ambassador Assembly – Highlights from Capitol Hill

Earlier this week, we held our first ever Platinum Ambassador Assembly in Washington, D.C. The Assembly is a meeting for our most highly engaged advocacy volunteers to hone their skills, meet other Platinum Ambassadors from around the country and share their stories with members of Congress. Our Junior Ambassadors and future leaders – volunteers committed to achieving Platinum Ambassador status in 2018 – were also in attendance to learn, share their stories and fight for the over 54 million Americans who are living with arthritis.
Continue reading Platinum Ambassador Assembly – Highlights from Capitol Hill

shanna new mexico legislation

NM Governor Martinez Signs Senate Bill 11 into Law to Curb Step Therapy

On Wednesday, February 28th, New Mexico joined 17 other states across the country in passing legislation to curb step therapy. Senate Bill 11, which was signed into law by New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez, reforms the process that forces patients to try drugs that insurance companies choose, making patients “fail first” before the patient gets to use the medicine that their doctor originally prescribed.

Step therapy is an insurance practice that requires patients to use a lower-cost drug before permitting more expensive drugs – regardless of what your doctor prescribed. This may occur even if you are already taking that pricier medication and doing well on it.  Senate Bill 11 placed limits on this practice and helps get the right medicine to patients faster.

Continue reading NM Governor Martinez Signs Senate Bill 11 into Law to Curb Step Therapy

21st Century Cures Act

Answering Your Questions About the New Tax Reform Legislation

On Wednesday, December 20, Congress passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). There were several health-related changes included in the legislation, such as a repeal of the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate, and changes to the medical expenditure tax deduction. Below we explain the key health provisions that made it into the final law, how it may impact you, and what’s next.

Let’s start with the individual mandate.
Continue reading Answering Your Questions About the New Tax Reform Legislation

rebecca gillett

Platinum Ambassador Spotlight—Rebecca Gillett, Colorado

In 2016, I was fortunate to attend the Arthritis Foundation Advocacy Summit in Washington D.C. alongside some seasoned advocacy veterans from Denver. I had never met with my legislators or shared my story before, so it was a new experience. It was easy to “catch the bug” for advocacy being surrounded by so many other fellow arthritis patient advocates who want to make a difference for all of us. Raising awareness and fundraising for arthritis has been an integral part of my life for the past several years, but advocacy has become an even greater passion. This year, I achieved the Platinum Ambassador Award and will attend the Arthritis Foundation’s Platinum Ambassador Assembly this March 12-13, 2018.

Continue reading Platinum Ambassador Spotlight—Rebecca Gillett, Colorado

lori fagan arthritis ambassador spotlight

Ambassador Spotlight – Lori Fagan, Virginia

From Lori Fagan

I have been living with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) for over a decade. As a full-time working mom and wife living with a chronic condition, the last thing I need is the added strain of fighting with my health insurer.

Unfortunately, because of a common health insurance practice known as “step therapy,” the last 10 years have been a constant and stressful battle.

Continue reading Ambassador Spotlight – Lori Fagan, Virginia

biosimilars win in new work

Victory in New York! Biosimilar Legislation Signed Into Law

On behalf of the more than 3.6 million New Yorkers (including 18,400 children) with doctor-diagnosed arthritis, the Arthritis Foundation thanks Governor Andrew Cuomo for signing biosimilar legislation into law. The new law, A.7509/S.4788, enhances patient access to new and innovative medications while ensuring that pharmacists are communicating critical and up-to-date medical information about patients to physicians.

Continue reading Victory in New York! Biosimilar Legislation Signed Into Law