With opinion research unveiled during the 2017 NACDS Annual Meeting, NACDS members can show members of Congress what their constituents think about key elements of pharmacy’s “Access Agenda.”
NACDS RxIMPACT participated in an in-district activity with Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) this week.
As promised, NACDS is harnessing the energy generated in advance of NACDS RxIMPACT Day on Capitol Hill and turning it into meaningful, effective advocacy efforts. Though the winter storm, flight cancellations and congressional schedule changes forced the cancellation of the Washington, D.C. event, NACDS RxIMPACT immediately started its work to translate congressional meetings scheduled for last week’s advocacy event into in-district opportunities for NACDS RxIMPACT Day on Capitol Hill participants when House and Senate members return home for recess in April.
Building on its largest letter writing campaign ever—5,000 and counting—to build support for federal provider status legislation (HR592/S109), NACDS RxIMPACT asked advocates again this week to write their representatives letting them know that as they work to reform the Affordable Care Act, pharmacy services in Medicaid and Medicare should be protected to ensure beneficiary access to quality and lower-cost care. In the first 24 hours of the campaign, advocates generated 1,031 letters to 236 members of Congress.
NACDS RxIMPACT also urged advocates in New York, Oklahoma, and Texas to promote pharmacy’s priorities and called on all NACDS member companies to advance a TRICARE pilot program to increase patient access and reduce costs.
Arlington, VA – In a column published in today’s print and online editions of The Hill, the National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) positioned pharmacy patient care and collaboration across healthcare segments as vital to improving health and wellness nationwide.
The column reflects NACDS’ “Access Agenda” – which reflects pharmacy’s collaborative approach to patient care and to public policy development.
NACDS President and CEO Steven C. Anderson, IOM, CAE cited as a healthcare-delivery success the broad-based recognition of pharmacy’s vital role in providing vaccines – an evolution that gained momentum following the flu pandemic of 2009. He also noted the strong bipartisan support for the Pharmacy and Medically Underserved Areas Enhancement Act (H.R. 592 and S. 109) – legislation that would enhance underserved Medicare patients’ access to state-approved, pharmacist-provided services.
In addition to urging proactive measures, he also noted the importance of doing no harm to pharmacy patient care, urging Congress to preserve pharmacy benefits and pharmacy services in Medicare and Medicaid amid any reviews of current programs.
“In healthcare delivery, as in healthcare policymaking, there is no panacea. However, lessons learned over the past decade – including those related to pharmacists’ enhanced vaccination authority – suggest that seeking improved access for patients through highly educated, trusted and accessible professionals like pharmacists can yield bipartisan accomplishments amid times of need,” Anderson wrote.
“In this way, similar and additional initiatives – fueled by collaboration among various segments of healthcare delivery and by leaders in government – could notch progress toward remedies for patients, as well as for the policymaking and political arenas alike.”
More information about NACDS’ Access Agenda can be found at AccessAgenda.NACDS.org.
NACDS is welcoming more than 400 advocates, representing 47 states, to Washington, D.C., to participate in the 9th annual NACDS RxIMPACT Day on Capitol Hill March 14-15. Can’t make it to D.C.? No problem. You can still urge Congress to recognize the value of pharmacy by participating in NACDS RxIMPACT’s biggest letter-writing campaign ever to promote provider status legislation (H.R. 592/ S.109).
Just because you can’t be in D.C. in person doesn’t mean you can’t still be with pharmacy advocates urging Congress to recognize the value of pharmacy. As Congress considers reforming the Affordable Care Act (ACA), pharmacy services in Medicaid and Medicare should be protected to ensure beneficiary access to quality and lower-cost care. Community pharmacy can play a key role in ensuring the success of efforts to reform these programs in helping guarantee access to affordable, high-quality care. Enhancing access to patient care in communities, through measures like provider status, could be especially beneficial, particularly for patients with chronic conditions.
Advocates are already excited to sign on and spread the word. Dave Rueter of Thrifty White responded to the email alert to participate. He wrote, “Thanks for making this so easy. I will send this out to our store teams on Monday morning [March 13] and encourage them to participate.” Larry Wagenknecht, chief executive officer of the Michigan Pharmacists Association, wrote, “I’m sorry that I am not physically able to be there this year, but we have several members (including a couple of really excited students) that we know are going to be there. We will be doing our part back here in Michigan!”
It’s still possible to make a difference back in your own state. Visit the NACDS RxIMPACT website, and by typing in your name and address only once, you will send a personalized letter to your elected lawmakers in Washington. Recently, NACDS RxIMPACT mobilized advocates to send nearly 5,000 letters to promote provider status legislation.
Note: To date, eleven NACDS member companies have already indicated they are at the ready to distribute the NACDS RxIMPACT Action Alert on March 13: Ahold USA, Brookshire Brothers, Inc. Brookshire Grocery Co., Discount Drug Mart, Inc., H-E-B, [ READ MORE ]
Arlington, Va. – As more than 400 pharmacy advocates from 47 states meet with more than 90 percent of the U.S. Congress next week, a Washington, D.C. advertising initiative will help to tell their story. The ads state: “Pharmacists provide access to better healthcare every day,” and “we’re here to provide access to health policy solutions.”
The grassroots advocacy event is the National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) RxIMPACT Day on Capitol Hill – now in its ninth year. Print and digital advertising will draw focus to the personalized stories of participating NACDS member company representatives, student pharmacists, state pharmacy association representatives and other allies.
“NACDS will bring our ‘Access Agenda’ to Capitol Hill with the personal insights and experiences of pharmacy team members who serve as the face of neighborhood healthcare,” said NACDS President and CEO Steven C. Anderson, IOM, CAE. “The ads emphasize the point that pharmacy is a go-to source for public policy solutions, just as pharmacy is a go-to source for accessible, quality and affordable health and wellness services.”
“NACDS is setting the tone for even higher levels of collaboration that we are seeking with other segments of the healthcare delivery system, with policymakers and with thought leaders.”
The ads refer viewers to a microsite summarizing policy positions that advocates will take to members of Congress. Among them, NACDS is urging a commitment to the cost-effective prescription drug benefit in Medicaid and in Medicare amid the current discussions of potential changes to the Affordable Care Act. NACDS also is urging enactment of the Pharmacy and Medically Underserved Areas Enhancement Act (H.R. 592 and S. 109), to improve healthcare access for medically underserved Medicare patients.
“NACDS is drawing attention to pharmacy’s role in a positive and proactive public dialogue about healthcare issues. For example, in addition to our meetings on Capitol Hill, the NACDS RxIMPACT program welcomes members of Congress for pharmacy tours and other in-district and in-state events, which are incredibly helpful for demonstrating real-life healthcare issues in real-life settings,” Anderson explained.
“NACDS is setting the tone for even higher levels of collaboration that we are seeking with other segments of the healthcare delivery system, with policymakers [ READ MORE ]
The Bartell Drug Co. participated in one of ten NACDS RxIMPACT-supported congressional town hall meetings this week with Rep. Derek Kilmer (left) in Tacoma, Wash.
Rite Aid Corporation’s Lou Ann Obernesser participated in a town hall with House Energy & Commerce Committee member Rep. Paul Tonko (D-NY) in Schenectady, N.Y., on Monday. She said the event was so well attended they had to break out overflow rooms to accommodate people. She spoke directly with Rep. Tonko and told him she lives and works in his district. She asked for his renewed support for provider status legislation—H.R. 592, The Pharmacy and Medically Underserved Areas Enhancement Act—which would enhance access to care for underserved Americans. Obernesser said the congressman was “very familiar” with the legislation. Obernessor used district-specific information provided by NACDS RxIMPACT to quantify the role the 141 community pharmacies in the congressman’s district play in providing healthcare to his constituents.
The Bartell Drug Co.’s Daiana Huyen attended in a town hall with Rep. Derek Kilmer (D-WA) in Tacoma, Wash., on Tuesday. She said, “It was definitely a successful event for the district—there were about over 300 people attending.” She noted it was a very diverse group, comprised of seniors, students, immigrants and local business owners who addressed a range of topics including the Affordable Care Act, immigration and education. Huyen spoke to Rep. Kilmer one-on-one after the meeting, gave him her business card, and followed up with an email to him with her specific legislative priority “asks,” which NACDS RxIMPACT provides to members who are participating in in-district activities like town halls, pharmacy tours, and more.
Don’t miss your chance to connect with legislators at the upcoming NACDS RxIMPACT Day on Capitol Hill, March 14-15. At last year’s event, participants met with 90 percent of congressional offices. Register today! You can make a difference—at home and on Capitol Hill.
NACDS RxIMPACT mobilized its largest letter-writing campaign ever this week mobilizing advocates to contact their representatives to build on the momentum of the Pharmacy and Medically Underserved Areas Enhancement Act.
…the future of pharmacy will be dependent upon the provider status decision
The legislation was reintroduced late last week in the House (H.R. 592), with the bipartisan original co-sponsorship of nearly one-quarter of the House, and reintroduced in the Senate (S. 109) January 12.
The campaign called on state associations, schools of pharmacy and NACDS member companies to send letters to their legislators emphasizing that the lack of pharmacist provider status recognition in Medicare and Medicaid has limited the ability of pharmacists to provide patient services they are qualified to perform, which inhibits patient access to care. The legislation would enhance access to care for underserved Americans, which would reduce overall health costs and improve patient outcomes.
Greg Guenther, RPh, director of pharmacy for Dierbergs Pharmacies, responded to the call, as he has many times before, and emailed his entire pharmacy team encouraging them to get engaged on this critical issue. Guenther noted, “…it takes diligence to be successful,” and wrote that “the future of pharmacy will be dependent upon the provider status decision.” He then challenged his team, “Will we… continue to expand our responsibilities to meet the training we have and the demands of our patients?”
To date, advocates have sent 2,048 letters to their representatives in the House and Senate. The power of grassroots advocacy is in motion.
During his Senate confirmation hearing this week and since being nominated for Secretary of Health and Human Services, U.S. Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.) has focused on six principles of healthcare reform: affordability, accessibility, quality, innovation, responsiveness, choices. In fact, Rep. Price has focused on those principles for some time – he described them in an op-ed column in The Hill back in 2013 and likely many times before that during his Congressional and medical careers.
Importantly, pharmacy’s contributions to healthcare affordability, accessibility, quality, innovation, responsiveness and choices are highly regarded among Republicans, Democrats and independents alike.
To be sure, these terms are cited frequently across party lines. The real debate exists in the details of how these principles are best achieved. I cannot help but note at this pivotal time in our nation’s healthcare policy skirmishes that pharmacy makes a powerful case for its role in advancing all of these principles. Consider the following:
Affordability: In a national survey commissioned by NACDS, 65 percent of respondents said pharmacists are credible information sources on opportunities to save money.
Accessibility: Nearly all Americans (91%) live within five miles of a community pharmacy.
Quality: In a national survey commissioned by NACDS, more than seven-in-ten respondents who are considered heavy users of pharmacy services reported favorable opinions of pharmacies – which is a very strong rating in comparison with other segments of healthcare delivery.
Innovation: NACDS’ training program to advance pharmacy-based pharmacogenomics – a form of personalized medicine that involves using genetic data to ensure medications are used in a safe and effective manner – presents but one example of the industry’s commitment to innovation.
Responsiveness: NACDS’ training program to advance pharmacy-based point-of-care testing for flu, strep and other acute and chronic conditions reflects pharmacy’s ability to improve options available to patients regarding the manner and environment in which they are treated.
Choices: NACDS advocates strongly for patient choice, and an example of this is maintaining a co-payment structure that secures military families’ and veterans’ ability to choose community pharmacies over mail order as the source for their medications. The Congressional Budget Office has found that higher copayments “cause some chronically ill beneficiaries to stop taking their medications, resulting in more [ READ MORE ]
Arlington, Va. – The Pharmacy and Medically Underserved Areas Enhancement Act (H.R. 592) was reintroduced on Friday, January 20, with the bipartisan original co-sponsorship of nearly one-quarter of the U.S. House of Representatives. The Senate bill (S. 109) was re-introduced on January 12. The National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) strongly backs the legislation.
Pharmacists remain among the most highly trusted professionals. That, combined with their extensive education and accessibility, create tremendous opportunities for patient care.
“NACDS thanks for their leadership Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-KY), Rep. G.K. Butterfield (D-NC), Rep. Tom Reed (R-NY) and Rep. Ron Kind (D-WI) – the lead sponsors of the Pharmacy and Medically Underserved Areas Enhancement Act in the House,” said NACDS President and CEO Steven C. Anderson, IOM, CAE. “NACDS appreciates all of the 108 Representatives who have signed onto the legislation as original cosponsors. The work already is underway to build on the momentum that was started in the last Congress, to accelerate the campaign to enhance the quality, accessibility and affordability of patient care through pharmacist-provided services.
“NACDS members operate pharmacies in each and every Congressional District, and we look forward to telling their story as the face of neighborhood healthcare. Pharmacy’s story resonates in communities throughout the nation, where pharmacists are relied on heavily and can be leveraged even more for the benefit of Medicare patients.”
The bill would allow underserved Medicare patients to receive certain services from pharmacists, in states in which pharmacists already are permitted to administer the functions. Examples of these services include immunizations; helping seniors manage chronic conditions such as diabetes, heart conditions and asthma; conducting wellness or prevention testing; and helping seniors take their medications correctly and as prescribed. Nurse practitioners and physicians’ assistants currently can provide these services through Medicare.
“Pharmacists remain among the most highly trusted professionals. That, combined with their extensive education and accessibility, create tremendous opportunities for patient care,” Anderson said.
To sit for pharmacy Board licensure exams, candidates must have a Doctor of Pharmacy degree (PharmD), which requires a minimum of six years of professional education. Highly-educated pharmacists are tremendously accessible, with most Americans – 91 percent – living within five miles of a community pharmacy. [ READ MORE ]
