On Capitol Hill

CSRO Leaders Continue Raising Awareness and Advocating for 340B Reforms

In December, two members of the CSRO Board of Directors—Madelaine Feldman, MD, FACR, and Harry Gewanter, MD, FAAP, MACR—served as guest speakers at two separate policy webinars that highlighted the need for reforms to the 340B Drug Pricing Program. Dr. Feldman participated in a Women in Government webinar, “The 340B Controversy: How Patients, Businesses, and States Are Paying Higher Health Care Costs While Profits Proliferate,” alongside Amanda Krzepicki, Policy Director at the Autoimmune Association. Dr. Gewanter also presented on the need for meaningful 340B reforms during a webinar hosted by Pharmacists United for Truth and Transparency, engaging independent pharmacists, patients, and other healthcare advocates during the webinar discussion.

Both presentations reinforced CSRO’s position that the 340B program needs stronger guardrails to better protect patients. While the 340B program was initially intended to support uninsured and underserved populations, its current structure has increasingly been exploited to prioritize financial gain over patient access and affordability. You can learn more and watch Dr. Feldman’s webinar presentation here.

Alliance of Specialty Medicine Continues Advocacy for Medicare Physician Payment Reform

Last month, CSRO joined the Alliance of Specialty Medicine (Alliance) in supporting the reintroduction of the Strengthening Medicare for Patients and Providers Act, bipartisan legislation to reform the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule. The bill would establish an annual inflationary update tied to the Medicare Economic Index (MEI), helping ensure physician reimbursement keeps pace with rising practice costs.

In the coalition letter, CSRO and other specialty physician organizations that are members of the Alliance thanked the bill sponsors, Raul Ruiz, MD, and Gus Bilirakis, for their continued leadership on this issue. The groups emphasized that chronic underpayment in Medicare threatens practice sustainability and patient access to specialty care, underscoring the urgent need for meaningful payment reform by Congress.

Legislation Around the Country

NJ: CSRO Urges Governor Murphy to Sign Legislation Banning Copay Accumulator Programs into Law

On Wednesday, CSRO called on New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy to sign S5217/SB3818 into law, which is bipartisan legislation that would ban copay accumulator programs in the state. Through its work with the All Copay Counts Coalition, CSRO has joined a broad group of provider and patient advocacy organizations in supporting this legislation throughout the 2025 legislative process, including committee consideration. That’s why CSRO was pleased to see the bill swiftly and unanimously pass both the New Jersey Assembly and the Senate on December 22 and be sent to the Governor’s desk for final action before the end of the year. Patients in 25 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico already benefit from laws ensuring all copays count toward out-of-pocket costs. If enacted, New Jersey would join this proven model of patient protection and cost savings.

What's Happening in the States

CSRO tracks legislative activity relevant to the rheumatology community and their patients. Check out the list below to see the status of CSRO priority bills from the past two weeks, and click here to view a full status report of CSRO priority bills.

Interested in learning more about CSRO’s engagement in the states? Visit our State Legislation Correspondence page to review the letters submitted to state legislatures on CSRO’s priority issues.

CSRO State Legislative Forecast: February 11, 2026

Kick off the year with CSRO’s virtual State Policy Update, highlighting key priorities and trends for the 2026 legislative session. Hear from our government affairs team about upcoming policies affecting private practice, reimbursement, and patient access—and how you can advocate effectively. Register here!

Fellows Conference: March 6-7, 2026

Calling all rheumatology fellows! Mark your calendars to join us in New Orleans, Louisiana, for CSRO's annual Fellows Conference.

Advocacy Conference: October 2-3, 2026

Join us in Washington, D.C. for CSRO’s flagship Advocacy Conference to learn, network, and strategize around patient access to care. Sign up for the Registration Launch here!

State Society Conferences:

CSRO's state rheumatology society members host their own annual meetings throughout the year. Find a listing of these state-specific conferences on our website.

Action Center

Use CSRO's convenient online platform to easily find out who your elected officials are and engage with them directly.

Career Center

Locate the perfect fit whether you're looking for new career opportunities or trying to find the right candidate.

Explanatory Statement: “Underwater” Biosimilars

To aid in addressing the issue of "underwater" biosimilars with payers, CSRO has created a document to illustrate the extent of the problem.

Legislative Map Tool

Find your state on our interactive map tool to learn about current or proposed policy and ways you can take action to make an impact.

Payer Issues Reporting Form

Request assistance with any payer relation issues that may be impacting your patients or office.

Policy Correspondence

Easily access all of CSRO’s policy letters submitted to payers, state, and federal governments as an informational resource.

Rheum for Action

Learn about the latest advocacy issues in CSRO's advocacy column authored by Dr. Madelaine Feldman and produced in partnership with Medscape.

Step Therapy Cover Sheets

Review CSRO's state-specific step therapy materials that help guide practices in gaining an exemption from step therapy protocols.

Questions?

Please visit the CSRO website for other news and updates, and do not hesitate to contact us with any questions at info@csro.info.