Letters to Policy Makers

Rheumatology advocacy involves several branches of government and various agencies. ACR advocates to Congress, federal agencies, and others by writing or signing on to various policy letters.

2025 Federal Advocacy Letters

Barriers to Access

Congressional Leadership: Medicaid – ACR joins medical specialty coalition urging Congress to enact physician-led, patient-centered Medicare reforms that preserve patient access to care – 5/13/2025

Congressional Leadership: Medicaid – ACR joins medical specialty coalition expressing concern with proposed changes to Medicaid affecting healthcare coverage – 5/13/2025

Office of Management and Budget: Burdensome Regulations – ACR calls for removal of various burdensome Medicare regulations – 5/12/2025

Department of Labor: Drug Costs – ACR-led coalition calls for closure of the Essential Health Benefits (EHB) loophole – 4/22/2025

Congress: Barriers to Access – ACR joins coalition thanking Congressional champions for reintroducing the Reducing Medically Unnecessary Delays in Care Act for prior authorization reform – 3/28/2025

Congress: Barriers to Access – ACR joins letter thanking Congressional champions for reintroducing the Help Copays Act to prohibit the use of accumulator policies by health plans – 3/13/2025

HHS: HIPAA – ACR-led Coalitions calls for Security Rule updates to be retracted – 3/7/2025

CMS: Medicare Advantage – ACR-led coalition calls for streamlining prior authorization in Medicare Advantage – 1/27/2025

CMS: Medicare Advantage – ACR defends IRA and supports streamlining PA in Medicare Advantage – 1/27/2025

Physician Payment

Senate Leadership: Medicare Reimbursement – Medical Specialty Coalition calls on Senate to adopt reconciliation language  as passed by the US House to establish a permanent inflationary update to the MPFS tied to the Medicare Economic Index – 6/23/2025

Office of Management and Budget: ACR-led coalition calls for removal of various burdensome MIPS regulations – 5/12/2025

Congress: Medicare Reimbursement – ACR joins medical specialty coalition calling for the inclusion of a physician pay fix in the next government funding package – 3/10/2025

Congress: Medicare Reimbursement – ACR coalition calls for inclusion of the Medicare Patient Access and Practice Stabilization Act in forthcoming government funding package to offset current MPFS cuts and provide an inflationary update to payment – 2/28/2025

Congress: Medicare Reimbursement – ACR joins AMA coalition endorsing legislation that would halt current CY25 fee schedule cuts and provide a 2% inflationary inflationary update to payment – 2/10/2025

CMS: Medicare – ACR comments on final 2025 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule – 1/17/2025

Access to Treatments

An Open Letter to the American Public: Barriers to Treatment – ACR joins AMA in reaffirming support for vaccination to protect against respiratory viral infections – 6/25/2025

HHS: Vaccine Access – ACR Joins Medical Specialties Coalition Asking for Reinstatement of CDC ACIP Panel and Voicing Concerns Regarding the Impact of HHS Actions on Vaccine Access – 6/18/2025

Senate LHHS Appropriations Subcommittee Leadership: Rheumatology coalition calls for FY26 report language to address barriers to biosimilar access and reimbursement (identical letter sent to the House) – 6/13/2025

Congress: Biosimilars – ACR-led Coalition calls for Congress to address step therapy and inadequate reimbursement for biosimilars – 4/9/2025

CMS: Biosimilars – ACR-led coalition calls for CMS to address inadequate reimbursement for biosimilars – 1/27/2025

Medical Workforce

Senate Leadership: Medical Workforce – ACR joins coalition letter expressing concern with changes to student aid provisions in the reconciliation package – 6/4/2025

Senate Appropriations Committee: Medical Workforce – ACR joins multispecialty coalition endorsing the Pediatric Subspecialty Loan Repayment Program, calling for $30 million in program funding for FY26 – 5/22/2025

Congressional Leadership: Medical Workforce – ACR joins multispecialty coalition expressing concern with proposed tax change that would negatively impact private practice – 5/20/2025

House Leadership: Medical Workforce – ACR joins medical specialty coalition letter addressing concern with proposals out of Education and Workforce Committee affecting medical student loans – 5/13/2025

Congress: Medical Workforce – ACR joins letter thanking Congressional champions for reintroducing the Resident Education Deferred Interest (REDI) Act to allow borrowers to qualify for interest free deferment of loans while in residency programs – 3/27/2025

Congress Medical Workforce – ACR joins letter thanking Congressional champions for reintroducing the Conrad State 30 and Physician Access Reauthorization Act (identical letter sent to both chambers) – 3/26/2025

Congressional Leadership: Medical Workforce – ACR coalition endorses the Lorna Breen Healthcare Provider Protection Reauthorization Act supporting occupational wellbeing – 3/18/2025

Telehealth

Coming soon

Research Funding

Congressional Appropriations, Defense Subcommittee: Medical Research – ACR coalition calls for FY 26 funding increase for the CDMRP while restoring FY25 program cuts (identical letter sent to the Senate) – 5/19/2025

House Appropriations, Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education: Medical Research – ACR NIAMS Coalition requests $747 million funding increase for NIAMS in FY 26 Labor-HHS appropriations bill – 5/8/2025

HHS: ACR writes in support of the National Institute of Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), its role in chronic disease research, and express concern should NIAMS be consolidated into another division – 5/5/2025

HHS: Medical Research - ACR and Lupus Foundation of America write joint letter urging the preservation of CDC & OMF Lupus programming in agency reorganization - 4/30/2025

Congress: Medical Research – ACR joins coalition recommending $51 billion for the NIH in FY 2026 and reaffirms agency support – 4/7/2025

NIH: Federal Research Funding – ACR leadership joins multispecialty coalition calling for the NIH to rescind 15% Cap to Facilities and Administrative Reimbursement – 3/5/2025

House and Senate Appropriations Committee Leadership: Federal Research Funding – ACR coalition reaffirms AHRQ support in the 119th Congress – 3/3/2025

Federal Research Funding – ACR joins coalition requesting a $1.77B funding increase for the NIH, and preventing changes to the NIH facilities and administrative cost reimbursements – 2/20/2025

Congress: Federal Research Funding – ACR coalition reaffirms NIH support in the 119th Congress – 1/31/2025