NCPA attends opioid bill signing at White House

NCPA CEO Doug Hoey and Karry La Violette, NCPA's senior vice president of government affairs and director of the Advocacy Center, represented community pharmacy at the White House Wednesday as President Trump signed opioid relief legislation into law. This was NCPA's second invitation to the White House this month. The final opioid package included NCPA-supported provisions relating to the electronic prescribing of controlled substances in Medicare and funding for training pharmacists on circumstances in which they are allowed under law to decline to fill a prescription for a controlled substance. NCPA has developed a fact sheet on how this law will affect community pharmacists. Thanks to NCPA member pharmacists for engaging in these important efforts in your communities.

Video recap of advocacy successes

It's been a month of successes for NCPA's advocacy efforts on behalf of our members, including:

• Congressional testimony by an NCPA Board member.
• Passage of NCPA-supported federal gag clause prohibitions.
• Two invitations to the White House related to our involvement in key legislation.
• Four NCPA leaders featured in HHS videos about new federal gag clause prohibition.
• HHS Secretary Alex Azar's visit to an NCPA member's pharmacy in Pittsburgh.

To celebrate (and share), we've prepared a short, three-minute video recap. As NCPA CEO Doug Hoey says in the video, each one of our recent successes has given us an opportunity to gain support for eliminating pharmacy DIR.

Administration announces proposed changes
to Medicare Part B

The administration announced a plan on Thursday to change how Medicare pays for some expensive hospital-administered drugs for cancer and arthritis in a move to bring the costs more in line with lower prices paid in European countries. The proposed plan would be phased in over five years and includes creating a group to negotiate bulk prices for the drugs, bill Medicare, and distribute the medications to physicians. For more on the Part B proposal, check out this coverage from Forbes and the Washington Post.

Arkansas asks Supreme Court to uphold PBM law

Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge filed a petition asking the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold a 2015 Arkansas law that established a process for community pharmacists appealing below-cost MAC generic rates and prohibited PBMs from paying themselves (owned and/or affiliation) higher payment rates than competitor pharmacies they contract with on all drugs brand and generic. "Many Arkansans rely on pharmacies as their frontline health care provider," Rutledge said. "These same pharmacies are experiencing financial losses at the hands of middlemen PBMs that set pharmacy reimbursements so low that local pharmacies operate at a loss or are forced out of business." At the lower court level, NCPA together with the Arkansas Pharmacists Association filed an amicus brief in support of the state and assisted the state in its defense of the challenge to the law.

NCPA submits comments to OIG
on the anti-kickback statute

Today, NCPA submitted comments to the HHS Office of Inspector General (OIG)’s Request for Information (RFI) that asked for suggestions for new safe harbors and proposed modifications to existing safe harbors. The OIG was specific in requesting information on measures that may promote care coordination and reduce regulatory impediments to value-based arrangements. NCPA asked for a narrow safe harbor for community pharmacists that would further protect medication adherence programs and demonstrated the positive impact these pharmacy services have on care coordination and value-based care efforts to enhance the community pharmacist’s role in these programs.

Coalition urges action on restoring ability to use
FSA and HSAs on OTC meds

NCPA joined with the Consumer Healthcare Products Association and 24 other members of the Health Choices Coalition to urge Senate Leadership to pass H.R. 6199, the Restoring Access to Medication and Modernizing Health Savings Accounts Act of 2018, in the lame duck session of Congress after the midterm elections. This bipartisan legislation would allow consumers to once again use pre-tax dollars from flexible spending arrangements, health savings accounts, and other tax-preferred accounts to purchase over-the-counter medicines. The letter of support is attached to this update.

NCPA member hosts House chief deputy whip
for pharmacy visit

On Monday, NCPA member Jeff Bray, owner of MedQuest Pharmacy in Salt Lake City, Utah, hosted Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO) for a pharmacy tour. Rep. DeGette serves as Chief Deputy Whip for Democrats in the House of Representatives, as well as Ranking Member of the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. As a part of the tour, they discussed issues facing compounding pharmacies, as well as DIR fees and the need for greater PBM transparency. Following the tour, MedQuest employees, local community pharmacists, and other healthcare providers hosted a fundraiser to support Congresswoman DeGette’s reelection. NCPA PAC co-hosted the fundraising reception with NCPA lobbyist Adam Harbison also attending.

Upcoming ERISA webinar for NCOIL legislators

NCPA will be participating in an ERISA educational webinar for the National Council of Insurance Legislators (NCOIL) on November 9, 2018. Robert Smith and Howard Rubin, both partners with Katten Muchin Rosenman law firm, will be part of the panel on behalf of NCPA and community pharmacy to educate state insurance legislators from across the country on ERISA. NCPA assisted NCOIL with the selection of Smith and Rubin as part of our efforts to support the proposed PBM model act. Smith and Rubin will be joined by R.B. Drennan, a professor at Temple University and a neutral third party, and Stephanie Kanwit on behalf of PCMA.