At the beginning of 2017, the National Psoriasis Foundation, in partnership with the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation, targeted the state of Georgia for the introduction and passage of step therapy legislation. Step therapy, also known as ”fail first,” is a health insurance mandate that restricts spending on prescription drugs. This mandate requires patients to fail first, often…
NPF has big plans for reforming state health care laws in 2018. Here’s how you can help. As we celebrate the start of a new year, NPF’s State Advocacy and Government Relations team is preparing to kick off our state policy campaigns. We are searching for patients and health care providers who can help us…
As anticipated, we have seen major developments since our cost-sharing reduction (CSR) blog post just a short two months ago. As a refresher, CSR payments are a discount that lowers the amount a low-income patient pays for deductibles, copayments and coinsurance. In early October, President Donald Trump announced his decision to stop CSR payments, leaving…
Are out-of-pocket expenses crippling the health insurance marketplace? The government provides financial assistance for many income groups to help pay for these expenses, but no one knows if that assistance will continue – or for how long. To help make insurance affordable, the government offers a tax credit based on your household income to help…
NPF patient advocates meet lawmakers in Sacramento to work for change at the California Advocacy Summit. According to a recent study from Avalere, only one-third of enrollees in a 2015 health insurance plan on Healthcare.gov picked the same plan as the previous year. Furthermore, the majority of people in exchanges are enrolled in their plans…
The State Government Relations team goes to Florida to continue its battle against step therapy. Advocates from the National Psoriasis Foundation (NPF) and Arthritis Foundation (AF) went to Tallahassee, the Florida state capitol, on April 4th to show their support. Furthermore, to advocate for the passage of House Bill 877 and Senate Bill 530. Passing…
Without step therapy, any initial rises in drug costs would be offset by long-term savings in patient care. “Cost,” “budget” and “deficit” are words we see or hear almost daily in news headlines. Lawmakers and citizens alike are concerned that our governments are spending too much or not enough, especially when it comes to our…
Last week, both the Texas Senate and House of Representative introduced legislation (SB 680 & HB 1464) that will curb step therapy protocols. In an effort to ensure the passage of the important legislation, NPF and the Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Society hosted the 2017 Texas Step Therapy Lobby Day. On Wednesday, Feb. 1, 18 NPF…
If living with psoriatic disease isn’t challenging enough, most people struggle to afford their treatments. On top of that, insurance companies are increasingly using policies that prevent patients from receiving the right medication for them. Join NPF in the Lone Star State for our Texas Step Therapy Lobby Day. Together, we can change lawmakers’ minds.…