2020 NCPA Annual Convention Going Virtual

The 2020 NCPA Annual Convention will be a virtual meeting on Oct. 18-19. All the innovative, business-focused programs you have come to expect from NCPA will be available exclusively online in a live and virtual format, including programs focused on answering your hard-hitting questions on getting paid for the care you provide. NCPA will employ a state-of-the-art virtual exhibitor platform to help you find new business tools and opportunities for your pharmacy.

We would love to see you in person, but the recent increase in COVID-19 cases throughout the country, including in Tennessee, has made travel difficult for our members and conference attendees. NCPA won’t let that stop us from putting on a great Annual Convention that you can attend from the convenience of your home. 
Registration for the online event opens Aug. 28. Stay tuned for updates.

North Dakota Asks the Eighth Circuit
to Reconsider PBM Decision

This week, North Dakota state officials filed a petition requesting that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit reconsider their recent decision which found that the Federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act or “ERISA” preempted state law regulating PBMS. North Dakota’s petition argues that the Eight Circuit’s decision “radically expands the scope” of ERISA. North Dakota’s petition is in response to last week’s Eighth Circuit decision striking down parts of North Dakota’s PBM statute being litigated in PCMA v. Tufte. NCPA will continue to monitor this matter, and other cases directly impacting states’ efforts to regulate PBMs, including the pending appeal at the U.S. Supreme Court in Rutledge v. PCMA that is scheduled to be heard on October 6, 2020.

NCPA Continues to Advocate Against Abusive Tricare Audits

NCPA is awaiting response to a letter sent to the Defense Health Agency regarding ESI’s egregious recoupment efforts for Tricare compounded prescriptions. NCPA continues to emphasize that DHA/ESI have yet to state a valid basis for recoupment, and the current action should be rescinded. We have stressed that DHA/ESI needs to establish appeal standards without regard to medical records, as a pharmacy has no compulsory means to collect medical records from a prescriber. NCPA will continue to fight for our members impacted by this recoupment and continue to partner with the Alliance for Pharmacy Compounding and PAAS. Read our letter here.

NCPA Continues to Push Essential Priorities
as COVID Relief Negotiations Continue

Negotiations on the next COVID relief package between the White House and the Democratic Congressional leadership are progressing slowly. While negotiations continue, NCPA continues to advocate for inclusion of essential priorities. These include provisions that would provide liability protections to essential businesses operating in good faith, improvements to the paycheck protection program, pharmacist authority to administer COVID-19 tests and vaccine, hazard pay for front line workers, and tax credits to offset increased costs of sanitation and protective measures. If you have not yet done so, contact your legislators and urge them to support inclusion of NCPA’s Essential priorities in any package that emerges.

NCPA Opposes Non-Germane Business Reporting
Requirements in NDAA

This week, NCPA signed a letter with 62 other organizations to the leadership of the House and Senate Armed Services Committees urging opposition to language in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that would burden small businesses with new beneficial ownership reporting requirements through creation of a federal registry. The signatories noted that the proposed inclusion of these provisions are not germane to the NDAA and would further burden small businesses during the current health and economic crisis.

FDA Calls for Testing of Methanol Quantities
in Alcohol-Based Hand Sanitizers

This week, the USP and FDA held a joint call regarding testing for the amount of methanol appearing in alcohol-based hand sanitizers. Following the instance of consumption by children and the fact the substance, which is toxic, can be absorbed through skin contact, the FDA has requested USP add the existing Organic Impurities limit to the Identification test for USP Alcohol and USP Dehydrated Alcohol monographs. Manufacturers of hand sanitizer – including compounders, would be required to detect and quantify any methanol present in alcohol or dehydrated alcohol. The USP will be issuing additional guidance on other compounds commonly used in the manufacture of hand sanitizers in the coming days. NCPA will continue to monitor the impact of this guidance.

Help NCPA tell your story by completing
the Annual Census Survey

NCPA’s Annual Census Survey is now open. This is your chance to be part of the bigger story to enable NCPA to communicate to legislators, regulators, the media, and patients the important role independent pharmacies play in their communities. All we need is 8-9 minutes of your time, and you can take the census on your mobile phone, tablet, or desktop computer. Please complete by Friday, Aug. 21.

NCPA State Legislative Activity Update

NCPA tracks state legislation related to our top three state priorities:Medicaid reform, scope of practice and compensation for services, and PBM reform and regulation. Click each issue for a report of bills that have been introduced so far this session specifically dealing with these three issue areas. You can access the individual bill language and basic information on the bill by clicking on the bill numbers in the attached 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.