The College is always working to keep on top of legislative activities, government regulations, corporate actions and other issues that affect practicing allergists. We’re always ready to launch into action on priorities for your patients and practice. Here a just a few recent examples:
Letter to Quest Direct with concerns about direct-to-consumer food allergy tests – The College sent a letter to Quest Direct stating the company should reconsider offering direct-to-consumer food allergy panel tests because – as per the guidelines – this type of serum IgE testing should only be used in conjunction with the patient’s full medical history. The College expressed concerns that this form of direct-to-consumer testing could result in more harm than benefit to individuals concerned about food allergy.
ACAAI Strike Force visit to Washington, DC – College leaders met with 86 members of Congress and their staffs to advocate for issues important to practicing allergists, including reducing prior authorization burdens, maintaining telehealth coverage/payment policies after the public health emergency ends, and fixing the Good Faith Estimate (GFE) provisions in the No Surprises Act.
Keeping up with mixing allergen extracts – Members of the ACAAI Advocacy Council attended this year’s FDA Annual Compounding Listening Session to learn about any new developments and to continue to protect allergists’ ability to mix allergen extracts in their offices.
Prior Authorizations – The College endorsed the Senate and House of Representatives versions of bills to streamline the prior authorization process for recipients of Medicare Advantage plans so patients can get the treatments they need.
Tezspire – The College supported a letter to CMS expressing concerns about its recent decision to move Tezspire to the Self-Administration Drug (SAD) list resulting in coverage under Medicare Part D. We pointed out that the FDA approved the drug as a physician administered treatment and it is not packaged for self-administration.
Medical Billets – The College signed on a multi-organizational letter to the U.S. Department of Defense encouraging it to continue supporting military billets throughout the service branches.
Joint Statement to FDA on Removal of Oral Phenylephrine from OTC Status – The College and ACAAI worked together to send a joint Statement of Support of the Citizen Petition for Removal of Oral Phenylephrine from Over-the-Counter Status.
We’ve always got our “ear to the ground” on issues affecting your patients and practice and we’re ready to swing into action so the specialty can be heard.
