Virtual Fly-In Kicks-Off Monday
If you’ve registered for the 2021 NCPA Congressional Pharmacy Virtual Fly-In, it kicks-off Monday evening at 8:00 PM ET with a legislative briefing where NCPA staff will discuss our legislative priorities for the current Congress. Then you will have your virtual Hill-visits on Tuesday and Wednesday (April 20-21). If you did not register, you will still have an opportunity to support NCPA’s pro-pharmacy and pro-patient legislative agenda by email. Keep your eyes on your email for our call to action. View NCPA’s Legislative Checklist for our current priorities.
Bipartisan Network Adequacy Legislation
Introduced in House
This week, Reps. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and Morgan Griffith (R-Va.) reintroduced legislation that would give seniors more convenient access to discounted or “preferred” copays for prescription drugs at their pharmacy of choice. The Ensuring Seniors Access to Local Pharmacies Act (H.R. 2608) would also empower more seniors to choose the pharmacy that best fits their needs; promote transparency so that pharmacies have clear understanding of their reimbursement; and tackle conflicts of interest that exist with patient steering by pharmacy benefit managers to pharmacies affiliated with the PBM. Original sponsors of H.R. 2608 include Reps. Rick Allen (R-Ga.), Cindy Axne (D-Iowa), Buddy Carter (R-Ga.), Rick Crawford (R-Ark.), Vicente Gonzalez (D-Texas), Dutch Ruppersberger (D-Md.), and Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.). The legislation is among NCPA’s advocacy priorities during its annual NCPA Congressional Pharmacy Fly-In, which will be taking place virtually April 19-21.
Ranking Member of House Energy and Commerce Committee
Visits Utah Pharmacy
This week, Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.), Ranking Member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, toured MedQuest Pharmacy in North Salt Lake City, Utah, to hear about community pharmacy’s priority issues. McMorris Rodgers has been a longtime champion of community pharmacy and has also visited several pharmacies in her district in recent years. Karry La Violette, NCPA Senior Vice President of Government Affairs, also attended this week’s visit.
NCPA’s Truth Campaign Recruits Thousands
of Community Pharmacy Supporters
NCPA’s Truth Campaign, a multi-state public education and grassroots effort aimed at countering disinformation by the PBMs and recruiting new patient advocates, concluded last Monday and the results were excellent. After 12 weeks of targeting state legislators and senior citizens, the campaign generated more than 10,000 new patient advocates into our grassroots program. Those new recruits sent more than 27,000 letters to state lawmakers urging them to support measures controlling the PBMs. NCPA will launch another phase of the campaign in May. In the meantime, we’ll be promoting the campaign on our own social media channels. So, make sure to follow @commpharmacy on Twitter and Facebook during our Fly-In, April 19-21, and help us amplify the message by retweeting, sharing, liking, and sharing your own stories.
Survey Says Pharmacists Not Getting Supply of Vaccine
Necessary to Serve Vulnerable Populations
The Biden administration is making access to the COVID vaccine for minority and underserved populations a priority. Yet, an NCPA survey of independent pharmacists released Tuesday by NCPA finds that almost half are not getting enough or any doses of the vaccine to serve their patients, and 47 percent of them say they serve populations with a significant minority population. Nearly 80 percent operate in places with fewer than 50,000 people, with almost 40 percent serving a population of less than 10,000. Read more about the survey here.
2% Medicare Sequestration Payment Reductions
Suspended Until End of 2021
The suspension of the mandatory 2% sequestration payment reduction applied to all Medicare fee-for-service claims has been extended until December 31, 2021. CMS has instructed its Medicare administrative contractors to release any previously held claims with dates of service on or after April 1 and reprocess any claims paid with the 2% reduction applied.
Biden Administration Moves to Withdraw
Vaccine Table Changes
On March 11, 2021, HHS posted notification the agency is planning to withdraw revisions to the National Vaccine Table. On April 12, 2021, NCPA submitted comments in support of the withdrawal. This is a resounding victory for NCPA, which provided comments during the initial rulemaking process and on the proposed delay of the effective date. NCPA highlighted impediments the removal of syncope and SIRVA as covered injuries from the table would be for pharmacists to be active administrators of vaccines . NCPA will continue to encourage the Biden Administration to finalize the withdrawal as soon as possible.
Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee
Considers Measures to Address Opioid Crisis
This week, the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee held a hearing titled, “An Epidemic within a Pandemic: Understanding Substance Use and Misuse in America,” to examine legislation relating to the federal response to addiction and substance use crisis. The hearing focused on 11 measures, including six bipartisan bills, relating to substance use, including prescriber practices and training, access to care, and the Controlled Substances Act. There was bipartisan consensus among committee members on expanding telehealth, modernizing methadone treatment, and investing in research. Many members focused on the need to extend the temporary extension of the classification of fentanyl-related substances as schedule I drugs, which expires May 6, 2021.
Compounding Stakeholders Request Delay on FDA MOU
This week, NCPA, along with other associations, submitted a letter to the FDA requesting at least a two-year delay on enforcing any restrictions under the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) related to interstate compounding shipments. While there are legal challenges to the legitimacy of the MOU outstanding, FDA is moving forward with the original deadline of October 26, 2021, to restrict pharmacies in states which do not sign to a 5% cap. However, several states need to resolve conflicts between the MOU and state law if they wish to sign and won’t be able to enact legislation or properly budget for compliance costs until 2022.
NCPA Submits Letter of Support for Illinois PBM Bill
NCPA submitted a letter of support for Illinois SB 2008, which would address PBM reimbursement issues, conflicts of interests, and opaque practices that raise costs for patients. NCPA’s comments pointed out that PBM practices have led to the closure of 23% of Illinois’s community pharmacies over the past decade, which has severe negative impacts on patient health.
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. The weekly update is intended exclusively for the recipient and is not for external distribution.