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回答您关于新税改立法的问题
最近，关节炎基金会带头在加利福尼亚州通过了三项新法律，以确保病人得到照顾，并继续保持较低的处方成本。这些法律集中在处理生物仿制药替代、逐步治疗和控制加州居民的自费费用等问题上。
With specific regard to the new legislation regulating the step therapy process, Krystin Herr, vice president of government affairs and advocacy in the pacific region for the Arthritis Foundation, stated, “Many patients with complex chronic conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis, do not always fit a ‘one size fits all’ approach to medication. However, step therapy protocols do not reflect that.”
Continue readingArthritis Foundation Advocates Help Achieve 3 Big Victories in California!
For those living with arthritis and those fighting to conquer it, there are no shortage of barriers, bottlenecks and even days where No becomes the norm. As part of our efforts to fully support the arthritis community and break down those barriers to achieve more moments of Yes, we fight on many levels, including legislative, to make real change that impacts the lives of the over 50 million people living with this disease. Today, we celebrate a big victory for the 5.9 million people (38,000 of whom are children) in California living with arthritis.
Continue readingVictory in California – Breaking Down Step Therapy Barriers!
在很大程度上要感谢伊利诺斯州关节炎基金会的许多信件、电话和访问，7月30日，州长布鲁斯·劳内(R - IL)签署了参议院第455号法案，使之成为法律。
The law creates a pathway for the introduction and use of biosimilars into the mainstream marketplace. Biosimilar medications have the potential to provide safe and effective treatment to people with arthritis at a potentially lower cost than name-brand biologic medications.
生物制剂是经过精心设计的，它们永远不可能被真正复制。这意味着，即使被视为可互换的生物仿制药，也不是原始生物药的仿制药。在全国范围内，各州正在立法为生物仿制药开辟一条途径，因为目前有关仿制药替代的法律对生物仿制药没有管辖权。
Continue readingAdvocates in Illinois Get a Big Win for Biosimilars
Thanks to the efforts of Arthritis Foundation Advocates, an amendment that could cut vital arthritis research in the Senate Defense Authorization bill will not go to the floor of the Senate for a vote! Over 58 letters and phone calls were made to senators last week by Arthritis Foundation Advocates to preserve the research program. Last week, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) filed an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act asking that all research not directly related to deployment, combat, recovery and rehabilitation be defunded. The amendment could have cut some of the arthritis research currently being conducted by the Department of Defense, and made researchers more cautious in the type of research they pursue. Even research that gets funded would have had to go through extra hoops to ensure it is related to specific military functions.
One week ago, the House Energy and Commerce Committee unanimously approved the bipartisan 21st Century Cures Act 51-0. The legislation will “help to modernize and personalize health care, encourage greater innovation, support research, and streamline the system to deliver better, faster cures to more patients.”
The Arthritis Foundation and its volunteers have been actively involved in pushing this legislation forward, sending letters to key parties and making visits to the Hill in support of the initiative.
The most recent version of the 21stCentury Cures legislation includes three new provisions that are important to the Arthritis Foundation and the arthritis community, covering topics ranging from easing restrictions on off-label uses of drugs to including age groupings in research studies, along with a provision that addresses the extension of exclusivity periods, which is important to ensure even those with rare diseases gain access to top-notch treatments and care.