Make Sure to Join Us: Life After Rutledge Webinar

Make sure you’re registered for a free webinar, Tuesday November 16th, with Attorney Rob Smith and Matt Walker, Executive Director of the West Virginia Independent Pharmacy Association. Smith is a partner at Katten, Muchen, Rosenman, LLP who most recently argued on behalf of the state of North Dakota before the Eighth Circuit in defense of two North Dakota laws regulating PBMs (in PCMA v. Wehbi). Smith and Walker, in a follow-up to their presentation at the 2021 NCPA Annual Convention, will explain how last year’s decision in Rutledge changed the legal landscape and how pharmacists can work to push for new PBM regulations at the state level. During the webinar, attendees will have the opportunity to contribute to NCPA’s Legislative/Legal Defense Fund (LDF), which funds expenses related NCPAs multiple ongoing lawsuits. Donations to the LDF through this webinar is critical as our webinar sponsors, RxSafe and Liberty Software will MATCH all individual contributions to the LDF dollar for dollar. You can register for the webinar here. Learn more about NCPA’s Legislative/Legal Defense Fund here.

President Biden Nominates Dr. Califf for FDA Commissioner

This week, President Biden formally nominated Dr. Robert Califf for FDA Commissioner. He chose Califf to return to the position after originally serving as Commissioner during the Obama Administration. The appointment comes as the tenure of Acting Commissioner Woodcock is about to legally expire. Califf must be confirmed by the Senate, where he was previously confirmed 89 to 4. Califf’s appointment comes as the Administration continues to combat COVID-19 and seeks to develop new drug initiatives. NCPA will continue to advocate on behalf of the membership before FDA on a number of issues, including compounding.

Thanks to our NCPA PAC Telethon Callers!

We’re grateful to the following NCPA leaders, who donated their time recently as callers in our annual NCPA PAC Telethon. Together, they raised more than $46,000 for the PAC. Thank you to: Mayank Amin, Schwenksville, PA; NCPA President Michelle Belcher, Grants Pass, OR; Danny Cottrell, Brewton, AL; NCPA PAC Chairman Steve Giroux, Middleport, NY; Jay Graessle, Asheville, NC; Carter High, Rhome, TX; Ben Jolley, Salt Lake City, UT; Nasir Mahmood, White Plains, NY; Ashley Seyfarth, Bloomfield, NM; Ken Thai, San Marino, CA; Justin Wilson, Midwest City, OK; Hashim Zaibak, Milwaukee, WI. Click here to donate to the PAC (note: NCPA login is required).

National survey: Independent Pharmacies Hit Hard
by Labor, Supply Shortages

This week, NCPA released a national survey of independent pharmacies showing labor and supply chain issues are severe problems. Nearly 70 percent report trouble filling open positions and overwhelmingly respondents say techs are the hardest to find. The squeeze is driving up wages just as reimbursements are getting lower. Click here for the full report.

District Courts Split on 340B Rulings

Last week, the U.S. Federal District Court for the District of Columbia issued a ruling in a case brought by Norvatis and United Therapeutics on the ongoing dispute between manufacturers and HRSA regarding the implementation of restrictions on shipments to contract pharmacies. In the decision, the Court decided the actions of the manufacturers were permissiable and the language of the 340B statute does not expressly prohibit manufacturers from imposing some - but not all - restrictions on discounted drugs. This is in conflict with the rulings out of Indiana and New Jersey, which held the letters were procedurally defective, but stated the manufacturers could not unilaterally impose restrictions. As a result, there are competing rulings in different jurisdictions – which will require further litigation to resolve. As these issues could be resolved by legislative action by Congress, NCPA will continue to engage on behalf of membership participating in the 340B program and work with interested Members on their legislation to address issues in the program.

NCPA Testifies in Support of PBM Reform in Wyoming

NCPA testified in front of the Wyoming Joint Labor, Health & Social Services Committee in support of draft PBM legislation. In his virtual testimony, NCPA Director of State Government Affairs Matt Magner expressed the need to address PBM conflicts of interest, which allow PBMs to steer patients to their own pharmacies and create anti-competitive reimbursement methods.

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.