Help millions of people live with less pain and fund groundbreaking research to discover a cure for this devastating disease.
#LiveYes & Fight for Better Access to Care
By Sarah Cloud It’s tough to fight an unseen battle from an uneven playing field. My son was diagnosed 11 years ago with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), my husband four years ago with ankylosing spondylitis (AS), and myself a few years ago with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). We are active every day in changing the platform for families like ours to gain knowledge on how to access and receive care in non-urban areas. In 2018, I decided to enroll in college. That was a massive step for this JIA mom and wife. I need to know how to fight for my family in ...more
Making Copays Count in Your State
Written by Ryan Precht In the arthritis community, we know that medications can be expensive. I have had arthritis since I was just 2 years old, and my treatments have run the gamut of costs. From $20,000 for an in-office infusion, to $4,000 for at home infusions, I’ve seen it all. As an adult, I treat my arthritis with home infusions, which cost around $5,000. Fortunately, I learned about a manufacturer copayment assistance program that covers most of that cost, leaving me with a manageable $50 payment each month. Without this program, affording my treatment would be impossible. Learning about this program ...more
Advocating During a Pandemic: Advocacy and Arthritis Go Hand in Hand
Patrice Johnson, Platinum Ambassador, CA California State Advocacy Committee Member | Live Yes! Online Community Forum Moderator The COVID-19 pandemic has radically affected all our lives. On the advocacy front, Arthritis Foundation Advocates and Ambassadors were concerned that we could not meet in person with our legislators to advocate for our priorities, especially as the pandemic made legislative changes even more necessary. Many of us came to the solution of meeting virtually.In April, my State Director, Steven Schultz, arranged a virtual meeting over Zoom for myself and other members of the California State Advocacy Committee with our Senator. Inspired by this meeting, ...more
LA Step Therapy Win
The Arthritis Foundation is pleased to announce that Gov. John Bel Edwards has signed HB 263 into law as Act 181. This law strengthens protections for Louisianans who are living with arthritis and cements Louisiana as having one of the strongest step therapy laws in the country. Act 181 was prioritized and passed during the COVID-19 pandemic and will improve the state’s existing step therapy law. Also known as “fail first,” step therapy is a process that forces patients to try and fail drugs insurance companies choose, before the patient gets to use the medication their doctor originally prescribed. This may ...more
We are Camp Stronger than JA, virtually!
这个夏天可能看起来不一样，但我们仍然有机会在JA夏令营交流。我们全新的虚拟JA夏令营体验将为所有参加JA夏令营的人带来夏令营的魔力，无论你身在何处!虽然我们不能代替在一起，但我们很高兴能为营员提供另一种沟通和乐趣的选择。关节炎基金会自豪地提供免费的，在家夏令营的经验在美国的儿童和青少年与少年关节炎和相关的儿童风湿病。少年关节炎(JA)营地是由Alpha Omicron Pi兄弟会和基金会(AOII)全国赞助，…more
COVID-19: What Do We Know Now?
By Julie Eller, co-host of the Live Yes! With Arthritis Podcast In the past three months, people in our country and across the world have experienced so much change. We have worked together by staying isolated at home. We have supported our health care workers by forgoing elective medical procedures, sewing protective masks and even joining those rounds of applause we have heard in the streets. We have come together to stand as a united community, vocally advocating for those at high risk, like the immunocompromised, elderly and people of color who are disproportionately impacted by medical crises like this pandemic. Importantly, we have taken these three months to learn as much as we can ...more
Step Therapy
我14岁时就开始出现幼年类风湿性关节炎的症状。当我的膝盖开始肿胀时，我就知道出事了。在被诊断为幼年类风湿性关节炎之前，她经历了两年的误诊和治疗。十几岁的时候，我从管理我的学业和社交日程，到管理一种无法治愈的慢性病。到毕业的时候，我的关节炎已经扩散到超过5个关节，影响我的手、膝盖、脚踝和脚。当我开始上大学时，我也开始了每周的注射和大学足球生涯。很多人告诉我，保持健康和…more
Meet Olivia Kwan: One of Our Newest Foundation Sponsored Fellows!
Right now, access to care is not always guaranteed for arthritis patients, and the problem is even worse for children living with juvenile arthritis. A child with arthritis currently travels an average of 57 miles to be seen by a pediatric rheumatologist. The Arthritis Foundation has been working to help close the gap on the nation’s rheumatologist shortage through our fellowship initiative. In 2018 we announced five fellowship awards; one of those grants was offered to the Riley Hospital for Children at Indiana University Health, which recently announced their fellowship has been awarded to Dr. Olivia Kwan. Dr. Kwan earned her ...more
Survive & Thrive: Together in Isolation
It’s game on for Rob Gronkowski and Matt Iseman on the Live Yes! With Arthritis Podcast. This was not your typical discussion about chronic pain and arthritis. There was laughing. There were singing and dancing. There was even juggling. It was just what we needed to cut through the isolation of the new coronavirus world. Former pro football player Rob Gronkowski – known by fans as “Gronk” – teamed up with Matt Iseman, host of American Ninja Warrior and a longtime friend of the Arthritis Foundation who has rheumatoid arthritis, to share their stories and some laughs on the Live Yes! ...more