Our Issues
Where does the ACR stand?
- The ACR recognizes that cuts to our country’s largest public health plan will be catastrophic for our nation’s most vulnerable populations, including low-income individuals and families, pregnant people, elderly adults, and individuals with disabilities, all populations where at least one in four adults are living with rheumatic disease.
What is the ACR doing on this issue?
- Read the ACR’s Letter to Congressional Leadership opposing cuts to Medicaid.
- Check out the ACR’s Fact Sheet that your colleagues took to Capitol Hill this year!
What can you do?
Where does the ACR stand?
- The ACR supports long-term, sustainable reform to Medicare physician payment that address decades of compounding cuts to reimbursement rates.
What is the ACR doing on this issue?
Read all of the ACR’s 2025 Letters to Policy Makers on physician reimbursement here.
Check out the ACR’s Fact Sheet that your colleagues took to Capitol Hill this year!
What can you do?
Where does the ACR stand?
- The ACR supports robust funding for rheumatic disease research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), the Arthritis Program in the Division of Population Health of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program (CDMRP) at the Department of Defense (DOD).
What is the ACR doing on this issue?
Read all of the ACR’s Letters to Policy Makers on the importance of biomedical research here.
Check out the ACR’s Fact Sheet that your colleagues took to Capitol Hill this year!
What can you do?
Where does the ACR stand?
The ACR supports easing the burden of medical student debt through loan repayment assistance and forgiveness programs, such as the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Act (PSLF) and the Pediatric Subspecialty Loan Repayment Program (PSLRP). Additionally, the ACR supports legislation that would allow residents to defer interest on their student loans during their training as well as legislation targeted at physicians practicing in rural and underserved areas.
What is the ACR doing on this issue?
What can you do?
Where does the ACR stand?
- The ACR supports a rigorous scientific process for the development of recommended immunization schedules, like the “ACR Guideline for Vaccinations in Patients with Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Diseases” and “ACR COVID-19 Vaccine Clinical Guidance Summary for Patients with Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Diseases”, for the U.S. population as a means of protecting vulnerable patients with rheumatic diseases and other immunocompromised patients. Ensuring access to immunizations for close contacts of immunosuppressed patients, who may not be deemed “high-risk” themselves, should also be guaranteed.
What is the ACR doing on this issue?
What can you do?
Where does the ACR stand?
- The ACR recognizes that the rheumatology community is a global enterprise made up of many different professionals that benefit from interactive collaborations in venues such as professional meetings and other academic settings. Further, all visa holders should be supported in their ability to travel within the U.S. and to and from other countries for both personal and professional pursuits, including attendance at professional meetings, without fear of detainment and deportation.
What is the ACR doing on this issue?
2026 Advocates for Arthritis and Advocacy 101
May 30–June 2, 2026 | Washington, DC
The call for applications for 2026 Advocates for Arthritis and Advocacy 101 are open. The deadline to apply is February 28, 2026. Accepted applicants will be notified shortly after the application window closes.
Looking for more ways to get involved after reading our policy priorities and contacting your lawmakers? Writing a letter to the editor (LTE) in your local newspaper is an important tool for encouraging members of Congress to take action! The ACR Government Affairs team would love to partner with you to draft and submit an LTE.
It only takes three simple steps!
Fill out the form linked in the QR code with your information and tell us which topic you’re passionate about.
Our team will write your draft letter and connect with you for feedback and edits.
Once approved, we’ll handle sharing your letter with your local paper and your lawmakers.