NCPA Advocacy Update

Week ending May 31

Author: APCI Staff/Monday, June 3, 2019/Categories: Legislative Affairs

Sen. Wyden visits Grants Pass Pharmacy

This week, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), the Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee, visited Grants Pass Pharmacy to visit with NCPA Board Chairman Michele Belcher. The visit was covered with a front page story in the Daily Courier, the local newspaper.

This meeting occurred at an opportune time as the Senate Finance Committee is currently drafting a drug pricing legislative package that they are expected to mark up in June. NCPA and industry allies are working with the committee to consider inclusion of legislation addressing pharmacy DIR fees given the administration’s failure to do so in the final drug pricing rule. Karry La Violette, NCPA senior vice president of government affairs and director of the Advocacy Center also attended this important visit.


Senate pharmacy champions express disappointment
over pharmacy DIR inaction

Senate pharmacy champions, Sens. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) and Jon Tester (D-Mont.) are circulating a sign on letter among their Senate colleagues addressed to President Trump expressing disappointment that the administration failed to act on a CMS proposed rule addressing pharmacy DIR fees. Click here to email your Senators to encourage them to add their name to this letter to demonstrate broad bipartisan disappointment at the administration. The deadline for Senators to sign on is Wednesday, June 5.


NCPA members host Congressional pharmacy visits
over Memorial Day recess

In addition to the aforementioned visit by Sen. Wyden, several NCPA members took advantage of the Memorial Day recess and hosted a member of Congress for a visit to their pharmacy. NCPA President Bill Osborn participated in a community pharmacy roundtable with Congressman Kevin Hern (R-Okla.) that was hosted by NCPA member Kathy Campbell at her pharmacy is Owasso, Okla. NCPA members Jim Spoon, Chris Schiller, Travis Wolff and TJ Marti also attended the roundtable. Additionally, former NCPA President and current PAC Chairman Steve Giroux hosted Congressman Chris Collins (R-N.Y.) for a visit to his pharmacy. Other NCPA members hosting visits included John Ed White hosted Rep. Michael Guest (R-Miss.); Scott Butt hosted Rep. Trey Hollingsworth (R-Ind.); and Eric Larson hosted Rep. Darren Soto (D-Fla.). In California, NCPA member Jitesh Zala participated in a press event with Rep. Nanette Barragan (D-Calif.), a member of the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee.

The next in-district work period is the July 4 recess from June 28-July 8. It is not too early to invite your member of Congress for a visit during that period. Visit NCPA’s pharmacy visits webpage or contact Michael Rule at michael.rule@ncpanet.org for tips on arranging a visit with your legislator.


NCPA Annual Convention registration flash sale
extended to June 13

Due to the tremendous response, NCPA has extended the deadline of the Convention flash sale to June 13. If you have not done so, make sure you register for the NCPA 2019 Annual Convention before the deadline to take advantage of the flash sale discount. Save $100 on Convention registration using code FLASH100. Fine print: This rate is for owner/managers and staff pharmacists ONLY. Here's a sneak peek at the preliminary Convention brochure. See you Oct. 26-29, in San Diego!


Senate HELP Committee seeks comment
on draft health legislation

Last week, Senate HELP Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-Wash.) released the Lower Health Care Costs Act of 2019, bipartisan discussion draft legislation to reduce health care costs. This legislation is the result of specific recommendations sought from industry stakeholders about what Congress could do to help lower the cost of health care services. The committee plans to mark up this legislation, which is based on those hearings and recommendations, by the end of June. The Chairman and Ranking Member also committed to continuing to work on two policies with the aim of inclusion in the June markup: the Prescription Drug Rebates Reform Act of 2019, introduced by Senators Romney (R-Utah) and Braun (R-Ind.), and the Fair Accountability and Innovative Research (FAIR) Act, introduced by Senators Baldwin (D-Wis.), Braun, Smith (D-Minn.), and Murkowski (R-Alaska). NCPA will be submit comments on the discussion draft prior to the June 5 deadline.


Key house committee leaders consider
improvements to Medicare Part D

Last week, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Rich Neal (D-Mass.) and Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), along with Ranking Members Kevin Brady (R-Texas) and Greg Walden (R-Ore.) announced an effort to consider legislation to reform and improve the Medicare Part D program. The bipartisan draft legislation seeks to improve the Medicare Part D prescription drug program for beneficiaries and taxpayers alike. Specifically, the draft would create an out-of-pocket maximum on prescription drugs costs for Medicare beneficiaries in Part D based on the current catastrophic threshold. The draft would also right-size and modernize the incentive structure for Part D plans to better manage costs by reducing the government’s share of the catastrophic coverage from 80 percent to 20 percent over four years. The President’s FY 2019 and 2020 Budgets and the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission recommended these same changes. The Chairmen and Ranking Members are soliciting feedback on this draft, including additional changes that could be made to better align the Part D program’s incentives and improve the structure and benefits for Medicare beneficiaries and taxpayers, including changes to the coverage gap, the catastrophic threshold, liability in the catastrophic tier, promotion of lower-cost generic alternatives, improvements to the low-income subsidy program, and premium considerations. NCPA will comment on the proposal by the June 6 deadline.


Alabama, Illinois, and Louisiana
send PBM bills to governors’ desks

PBM bills in three states (Alabama (SB 73), Illinois (HB 465), and Louisiana (SB 41)) were enacted. They are heading to their respective governors to be signed into law. Congratulations to all the advocates in these states who worked so hard to get these important bills passed.

  • Alabama SB 73 is a PBM reform bill that requires PBM licensure and prohibits gag clauses in contracts.
  • Illinois HB 465 is a PBM reform that requires PBM registration with the Department of Insurance, MAC transparency, fair audits reporting and transparency requirements in Medicaid managed care, as well as, prohibits gag clauses in contracts.
  • Louisiana SB 41 is a PBM reform bill that requires PBM licensure, strengthens and expands current MAC laws, and prohibits spread pricing by PBMs without prior notice to the insurer. It also gives the Board of pharmacy oversight authority.

To date, 22 states have passed almost 30 PBM reform bills in the 2019 legislative sessions.


Tennessee PBM bill is signed into law

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee (R) signed HB 786, a comprehensive PBM reform bill, which strengthens existing fair pharmacy audit laws, limits PBM adjudication fees, and prohibits a PBM from reimbursing a pharmacy less than it reimburses a PBM-affiliated pharmacy.


NCPA state legislative activity update

Click the links to view a report of bills that have been introduced so far this session specifically dealing with NCPA’s top three state priorities: Medicaid managed care payment reform, scope of practice and compensation for services, and PBM reform and regulation. You can access the individual bill language and basic information on the bill by clicking on the bill numbers in the report. Bills that have moved this week are listed at the top in the “Recently Updated” section.


NCPA’s Advocacy Center Update provides a weekly detailed summary of recent and breaking legislative, regulatory, and state developments impacting independent community pharmacy and NCPA’s efforts to affect policies benefitting its membership and the industry. The weekly update is distributed to NCPA leadership, steering committees, allied organizations/stakeholders and major contributors to the NCPA LDF and PAC.

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