News & Advocacy
posted: May 29, 2018
The OAR has taken notice that some insurers in Ohio may not be abiding by the response timeline outlined in state statute. We are asking for providers to work with their office administrators who...
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posted: May 29, 2018
Earlier this month the President held a press conference to unveil the “American Patients First” document, which will serve as a “blueprint” to lower drug prices and reduce...
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posted: February 6, 2018
The number of groups advocating for step therapy reform in Ohio is growing. Over 61 patient and provider groups have joined Ohioans for Step Therapy Reform, advocating for legislation to...
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posted: February 6, 2018
OAR and over 20 other organizations have joined the Ohio Pharmacist Association in applauding new legislation aiming to end a secretive practice that is causing patients to pay more than they...
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posted: February 6, 2018
In an effort to combat increasing drug costs, OAR recently joined the Alliance for Transparent & Affordable Prescriptions (ATAP). ATAP is a coalition of patient provider groups concerned about...
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posted: February 6, 2018
OAR and a number of other state societies signed onto the Coalition of State Rheumatology Organizations comments that were submitted to CMS in response to their proposed rules for Medicare Part D...
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posted: February 6, 2018
OAR and over 100 other groups signed onto a letter urging Congress to immediately reverse a new Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) policy that will create enormous financial...
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posted: September 22, 2017
A congressional effort to improve patients’ access to treatment is generating widespread enthusiasm in the advocacy community. Sponsored by Rep. Brad Wenstrup, DPM, (R-Ohio) and Rep. Raul...
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posted: September 22, 2017
Anthem has announced that, effective October 1, 2017, Hyaluronan injections to treat osteoarthritis in the knee will be revised from medically necessary to not medically necessary. Any patients...
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posted: September 22, 2017
OAR and a number of state societies signed onto the Coalition of State Rheumatology Organizations comments that were submitted to CMS in response to proposed revisions for 2018.
Medicare...
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posted: September 22, 2017
On November 7th Ohioans will face a ballot question known as Issue 2. This initiative sounds like a commonsense solution to combat high drug pricing, but when put under the microscope this issue...
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posted: September 22, 2017
Over 50 patient and provider organizations are supporting the step therapy legislation in Ohio. The Ohio Step Therapy Coalition is meeting this week in Columbus for a fall advocacy day that they...
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posted: September 22, 2017
The Ohio of Association of Rheumatology’s Annual meeting in Columbus kicked off their sessions with an advocacy update and discussed the importance of members getting involved in the issues...
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posted: May 1, 2017
Over 30 Ohio Association of Rheumatology (OAR) and Arthritis Foundation (AF) advocates from around Ohio gathered at the Capitol in Columbus on Thursday, May 4 to educate lawmaker’s on their...
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posted: May 1, 2017
One of the many legislative priorities OAR spoke about during its recent advocacy day included regulating PBMs influence over drug pricing. The recent EpiPen fiasco has lawmakers and citizens up in...
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posted: May 1, 2017
In their second attempt this year House Republicans managed to garner enough votes to pass legislation that would replace Obamacare. The final vote narrowly passed 217-213 with 1 not voting.Repeals...
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posted: May 1, 2017
In April, Congressman Brad Wenstrup (R-OH) and Congressman Raul Ruiz (D-CA) introduced The Restoring the Patient’s Voice Act. The bill was created based off the step therapy legislation in...
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posted: January 1, 2017
The OAR will be riding momentum into 2017 that was generated by helping advocate biosimilar substitution and prior authorization legislation into law. While stakeholders fell short with step...
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posted: January 1, 2017
The Ohio State Medical Association (OSMA) has provided a guide for implementation of the new prior authorization law in Ohio. Provisions in the legislation partly take effect in 2017 with the rest...
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posted: January 1, 2017
CGS Administrators, the Medicare Contractor for Ohio and Kentucky, issued a report that seems to justify downcoding complex drugs to simple coding by explaining that classifying these biologics as...
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