Tag Archives: arthritis healthcare

Take Care Series

TAKE CARE: Advocacy Blog Series Bringing It All Together

We’ve reached the end of our advocacy blog series, and now it really is time to say “take care”!

Throughout this series, we’ve shined a spotlight on some of the hot button issues in health policy that can have an impact on your health care. The blog series was meant to help you take care when it comes to important arthritis care and coverage issues. With open enrollment for Medicare and the health care exchanges closing soon, we wanted to close out the year’s blog series reminding you of those important deadlines for health care. You can check out the year’s Take Care blog posts here. Continue reading TAKE CARE: Advocacy Blog Series Bringing It All Together

pharmacist gag clauses legislation

Congress Said Yes! to Transparency at the Pharmacy Counter

In a strong show of bipartisanship, the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate overwhelmingly passed two pieces of legislation at the end of September that would make it easier for pharmacists to tell patients about their payment options at the pharmacy counter.

Beginning last spring, the Arthritis Foundation led the charge by building support in Congress and among other patient and provider organizations about the importance of this legislation. The bills moved quickly through the legislative process thanks to the strength of Arthritis Foundation Advocates and Ambassadors, who called on their members of Congress to vote in favor of the legislation by sharing their stories.

Continue reading Congress Said Yes! to Transparency at the Pharmacy Counter

affordable care act update

TAKE CARE: Advocacy Blog Series

Update on the Affordable Care Act

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, and premium increases.

This week, we break down a recent legal challenge to the Affordable Care Act (ACA). A court case was recently thrown into the spotlight as a result of the administration’s decision to file a brief essentially arguing that federal courts should find the ACA’s protection for people with pre-existing conditions unconstitutional. Read on to learn more.

Continue reading TAKE CARE: Advocacy Blog Series

accumulator adjustment programs

TAKE CARE: Advocacy Blog Series

Accumulator Adjustment Programs

We’re excited to present a new advocacy blog series meant to help you take care when it comes to important arthritis health care and coverage issues. Over the next two months, we’ll post a blog every other week to help patients like you know what access issues we are watching and what you can do about them. This week we’ll tell you about a new policy many pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) are using called accumulator adjustment programs, which could especially impact people in high deductible health plans. Read on to learn more about these programs and why they are being implemented. Continue reading TAKE CARE: Advocacy Blog Series

arthritis foundation hill briefing US economy

Arthritis Foundation to Host a Hill Briefing on the Rising Cost of Arthritis to the U.S. Economy

On Thursday, February 1, the Arthritis Foundation and American College of Rheumatology (ACR) – along with seven other health advocacy organizations – will host a briefing on Capitol Hill urging lawmakers to increase research funding at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) to combat the nation’s leading cause of disability.

New data reveals the stunning impact of arthritis on the U.S. economy. Between 2003 and 2013, the annual cost of arthritis more than doubled and now totals $304 billion in direct and indirect costs, according to a CDC-sponsored study published in the September 2017 edition of Arthritis Care & Research. These figures include both higher medical costs to patients, as well as lost earnings from individuals who are unable to work due to their condition.

Continue reading Arthritis Foundation to Host a Hill Briefing on the Rising Cost of Arthritis to the U.S. Economy