The Arthritis Foundation reached a milestone in September, securing our 100thstate legislative victory since 2014! Congratulations Advocates!! All of these victories were made possible due to all of you!
Our victories occurred in 47 states plus Washington, DC, impacting more than 50 million people with doctor-diagnosed arthritis, and have focused on manypatient access to care issueslike:
By Maya Miserlian
My name is Maya Miserlian, I’m 15 years old, and I am one of 300,000 children in the US withjuvenile arthritis(JA).
At the age of 11 I was diagnosed with Chronic Recurrent Multifocal Osteomyelitis (CRMO), a rare bone disease that is one of the many diseases included in the definition of arthritis umbrella. My diagnosis came after over a year of being told my aching bones were just ‘growing pains’.CRMOaffects one in every million people, which has left me feeling alone in the past, because I did not know anyone else with my diagnosis. In the past year I was introduced to the Arthritis Foundation, which has played a big role in my journey with CRMO. Iadvocate for arthritisas aJunior Ambassador这个基金会让我能够控制自己的疾病，并为自己和其他JA患者发声。我认为自己很幸运——因为我住在我的专家附近，能够服用有效的药物，在确诊后仅仅三年我的病情就得到了缓解。然而，对大多数人来说，很容易找到专家并不是现实。
Continue readingJunior Ambassador Spotlight – Maya Miserlian
We are continuing our advocacy blog series meant to help you当心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 onaccumulator adjustment programs, pharmacistgag orders, President Trump’s drug pricingblueprint,drug rebates, andpremium 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.
The Arthritis Foundation thanks the governors in eight states for signingbiosimilar legislationin 2018 that enhances patient access to new and innovative medications, while ensuring that pharmacists are communicating critical, up-to-date medical information about patients to physicians. New laws inConnecticut, Michigan, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Vermont, Wyoming, West Virginia and Wisconsinwill positively impact approximately 5.3 million people with doctor-diagnosed arthritis.
“This legislation will grant access to life-changing medications while ensuring proper safeguards for both patient and physician when a prescription is substituted,” said Connecticut Advocacy Chair Paula Haney.
Continue readingBiosimilar Substitution Victories Across the Country!
We’re excited to continue our advocacy blog series meant to help you当心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 onaccumulator adjustment programsand pharmacistgag orders.
本周，继续阅读，了解更多关于特朗普总统的药品定价蓝图以及该计划涉及的不同政策领域。
On Friday, May 11 the Administration released its long-awaited plan, “Putting Patients First,” intended to help lower drug prices and reduce out-of-pocket costs for patients. President Trump has spoken at length about the need to tackle prescription drug prices, and the blueprint released last week was an effort to follow through on that promise.
In response to the blueprint, the Arthritis Foundation released a briefstatementon social media, expressing cautious optimism, but urging thoughtful development of proposals going forward.
We’re excited to present our second blog in a series meant to help you当心when it comes to important arthritis health care and coverage issues. This week we’ll tell you about a practice some pharmacy benefit managers have been using called clawbacks, which affect the price of medications you pay at the pharmacy counter. Read on to learn more and see how the Arthritis Foundation is addressing the issue.
A person who fills his or her prescription at the pharmacy may pay more for a prescription drug with insurance than if he or she had filled it without insurance. This can occur due to a“clawback,”a term used to describe the difference between the cash cost of a drug (purchasing a drug without insurance) and the copayment required by your health plan. That difference, the clawback, is often passed by the pharmacy back to the pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) as a profit. Unfortunately, this often occurs without the patient ever knowing they could avoid the higher copay by paying without insurance. A provision in the contract between the pharmacist and the PBM, known as a“gag order,”prohibits the pharmacist from disclosing cost information related to payment options.
We’re excited to present a new advocacy blog series meant to help you当心when it comes to importantarthritis health careand 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 readingTAKE CARE: Advocacy Blog Series
最近，几十位最热情、最直言不讳的关节炎社区支持者来到美国首都，磨砺他们的倡导技巧，并与彼此以及他们的国会议员分享他们的个人故事。Attended by nearly 130 participants from 32 states, the Arthritis Foundation’s newPlatinum Ambassadors Assemblywas held March 12-13.
Platinum Ambassadorsare 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 25Junior 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 reading2018 Arthritis Platinum Ambassador Assembly Makes a Big Impact
Platinum Ambassador Assembly Social Campaign
Did you know that the first everPlatinum Ambassador Assemblyis taking place in Washington, DC this March 12-13? There, our most highly engaged grassroots Ambassadors will gather together to be the voice for arthritis on Capitol Hill.
We’re calling on you to help amplify the voice of our Platinum Ambassador Assembly by participating virtually in our#AdvocateforArthritis3月13日周二的社交媒体活动。On that day Platinum Ambassador Assembly participants will be on Capitol Hill to meet their elected officials and their staff in person to discuss legislative priorities like reforming burdensomestep therapy practices,addressing the pediatric rheumatologist shortage，甚至为治疗方法的研究争取资金!
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 readingAnswering Your Questions About the New Tax Reform Legislation