Health Care Reform Bill Yields Positive Changes
The America’s
Affordable Health Choices Act (H.R.3200) was finally released on July
14th and builds on what works within the current health care system by
strengthening employer-provided care while fixing what is broken. The House
Committees on Education and Labor, Ways and Means, and Energy and Commerce
have been working together in an unprecedented way as one committee to
develop the proposal for health care reform. The Ways and Means and
Education and Labor Committees passed H.R. 3200 on July 17th and The
Energy and Commerce Committee is currently in the mark up phase. The
National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) has reviewed H.R. 3200
and lobbied on behalf of its members to support legislation for a
reformed health care system that helps to improve the use of prescription
medications, reduce health care costs, and enhance patient care. This bill
includes many provisions that strengthen pharmacy infrastructure allowing
pharmacies to better serve patients and providers. Medicaid Pharmacy
Reimbursement (AMP Fix) and Medicare DME Accreditation/ Surety Bond
Requirements were two issues which yielded positive changes in favor of
community pharmacy. Some of the provisions of H.R.3200 include:
Medicaid Pharmacy Reimbursement (AMP Fix):
• The generic reimbursement is set at 130% of the weighted average AMP - a
change from 250% of the lowest AMP.
• AMP definition is redefined to more accurately reflect retail
acquisition costs.
• Weighted average of brand and generic AMP data will be posted on a public
website.
• The new Medicaid FUL benchmark will not be implemented until January
2011- the current (pre-DRA) benchmark (150% of the lowest published
price) will be used until that date.
Exemptions from Medicare DME Accreditation and Surety Bond Requirements:
• New accreditation requirements will not apply to pharmacies supplying diabetic
testing supplies, canes and crutches.
• Includes an extension of the Oct 1st, 2009 accreditation deadline for any
Part B supplier of DMEPOS if they have submitted an application for
accreditation by August 1, 2009.
• This extension will be effective until such time as the accreditation
organization has completed the accreditation process - no hard deadline
for completing the process.
• Exemption of surety bond requirements for pharmacies who provide Part B
DMEPOS products if that pharmacy has held a provider number for at
least 5 years and a final adverse action has never been imposed on that
pharmacy.
For
more information please click HERE.
New
MTM Legislation Introduced
Sponsored
by Rep. Mike Ross (D-AR), H.R. 3108, the Medication Therapy
Management Benefits Act of 2009, was introduced on June 26, 2009, and
was immediately referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce and the
Committee on Ways and Means. Pharmacist-provided medication therapy
management (MTM) involves a licensed pharmacist's work with a patient to
review, monitor, and identify problems with a patient's medication plan.
Rep. Mike Ross signifies the importance of MTM as “improving medication
adherence, enhancing patient health, and reducing long-term healthcare
costs." Poor medication adherence has been estimated to cost over $177
billion per year and studies have shown that MTM reduces health
complications and costs.
For more information please click HERE.
PBM
Legislation Needs Your Support
H.R.
1204, the Community
Pharmacy Fairness Act of 2009, which will allow community pharmacies to
collectively negotiate contract terms with the giant PBMs, was introduced
by Congressmen Anthony Weiner (D-NY) and Jerry Moran (R-KS). The bill
creates a narrow exemption to anti-trust laws so community pharmacies can
receive a fair reimbursement for serving patients. H.R. 1204 is
critical legislation for pharmacies and patients and needs representatives
to help co-sponsor this important bill.
Please
contact your Representative and ask them to co-sponsor:
H.R.
1204, the Community Pharmacy Fairness Act of 2009
Make your voice heard by clicking HERE.
National
Community Pharmacists Association Political Action Committee
(NCPAPAC)
For
the first time in its 34-year history, NCPA’s political action committee
has raised $1 million in an election cycle. The achievement vaults NCPAPAC
into the top 2% of all of the thousands of trade association PACs
registered in Washington, D.C.
For
more information and to make a contribution, please click HERE.
STATE REPORTS
Florida
Remaining Bills Signed Into Law Include:
SB
440 ~ Prescription Drug
Monitoring Program; Exempts from public records requirements
information and records reported to the DOH (Department of Health) under
the electronic prescription drug monitoring program for monitoring
the prescribing and dispensing of controlled substances listed in Schedules
II-IV. The bill authorizes certain persons and entities access to
patient-identifying, practitioner-identifying, or pharmacist-identifying
information and provides guidelines for the use of such information, etc. EFFECTIVE
DATE: 07/01/2009.
For
more information please click HERE.
SB 162 ~ Florida Electronic Health Records Exchange Act expands
access to a patient's health records in order to facilitate the exchange of
data between certain health care facility personnel, practitioners, and
providers and attending physicians. Deletes the exemption that allows
long-term ombudsman councils to have access to certain nursing home patient
records. EFFECTIVE DATE: 07/01/2009.
For
more information please click HERE.
SB 2658 ~ General Fraud and Abuse in State-funded Programs;
Designates Miami-Dade County as a health care fraud area of special concern
for certain purposes. Provides additional licensure requirements for home
health agencies, home medical equipment providers, and health care clinics.
Requires the posting of a surety bond in a specified minimum amount under
certain circumstances. Provides limitations on the licensure of home health
agencies in certain counties. Provides an exception, etc. EFFECTIVE
DATE: 07/01/2009.
For
more information please click HERE.
The
Florida Pharmacy Political Action Committee of Continuous Existence
(FP-PACCE) is a means of
pooling resources and reaching candidates who have or will have an
understanding of what’s best for the practice of pharmacy and each aspect
of patient care in the state of Florida.
For more information, please click HERE.
Florida Pharmacy Small Business PAC
The
Florida Community Pharmacy Society/Network and the PAC, a four year old
organization of Florida independent pharmacy owners and friends, recently
made a name change to better identify their membership. As of May 1, 2009
they are known as the Florida Independent Pharmacy Network (non-profit),
the Florida Independent Pharmacy Federation (for profit) and the PAC
is the Florida Pharmacy Small Business PAC.
For more information please contact:
Paul Franck, FIPN President
E-mail: franck@francks.com
Alabama
Alabama
Political Action Committee
APA
provides representation at
both the state and national levels maintaining an active PAC (Political
Action Committee), a legislative contact system, and much more, all of
which combine to give APA a highly visible posture in the Alabama
Legislature, and a history of activity laced with numerous successes for
the profession.
For
more information, please click HERE.
Georgia
Georgia
Political Action Committee
PharmPAC is GPhA's Political Action Committee,
providing the resources for the association to lobby and advocate on behalf
of GPhA members.
For more information, please click HERE.
North Carolina
New Legislation Holds off Budget Woes
Senate
Bill 311, commonly
referred to as "continuing resolutions or CRs," is designed to
enable the continued operation of state government past the end of the
fiscal year until a permanent budget is approved. This Senate’s version of
the bill would extend the effective date of last year’s budget
indefinitely, until a new budget becomes law. The Senate’s version of S311
would provide funding at 85 per cent of last year’s budget, due to the
revenue shortfall. In the meantime, House leaders insisted that they would
not accept an open-ended "CR," and June 25 produced an amended
version of S 311 that included an expiration date of July 15. The latest
information on the items of interest to pharmacy reflects most notably, the
proposal to reduce the dispensing fee for pharmacy is gone. Also missing is
the proposal to gain savings by implementation of Preferred Drug List. The
proposed budget would affect Long Term Care Pharmacies as well as community
pharmacies by changing the reimbursement for prescription drugs from
Average Wholesale Price (AW) – 10 % to Wholesale Acquisition Cost (WAC) + 7
%. This change is expected to generate almost $10.5 million in savings this
year and almost $14 million next year. Reduce Prescription Drug Costs – The
proposed budget would plan for overall reductions in the prescription drug
program by an additional $30 million in each year. No specifics are
indicated about how those savings are to be achieved and it appears the
details are still in the works. Instead of a single source for DME
purchases, the budget reduces reimbursement for DME and allows vendors who
are willing to meet the price to participate in the program.
For more information please click HERE.
South Carolina
Legislative Alert - Co-sponsors Needed For H.
3393
House
Bill 3393 would authorize
the Board of Pharmacy and the Board of Medical Examiners to develop a
protocol for pharmacists to be able to administer vaccines without a
physician's order. Additionally, the passage of this legislation is
critical if and when there is a pandemic flu outbreak and there is a need
to get the population immunized in a very short time span. The bill has
currently been referred to the Committee on Medical, Military, Public and
Municipal Affairs.
Please ask your House member to co-sponsor H. 3393 by clicking HERE.
Legislative Alert - Support needed for PBM Legislation
House
Bill 3063, the Pharmacy
Patient Protection Act, provides for the licensure and registration of
Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBM’s) and that most importantly that a PBM may
not discriminate when contracting with pharmacies on the basis of
copayments or days of supply.
Please
ask your House member to support H. 3063 by clicking HERE.
Texas
The
2009 Texas Legislative session is now over and even though several bills
did not make the May 11th deadline in the House there are several bills
that have passed or awaiting signature by the Governor relating to
pharmacy. Some of these bills included:
House Bill 19: Author: David Leibowitz, D-San Antonio relating to
the labeling requirements for drugs dispensed by pharmacists. The bill
would increase the required information on a prescription drug label. Last
Action: Awaiting governor’s signature.
House Bill 1409: Author: Chuck Hopson, D-Jacksboro relating to the
minimum patient age for administration of an immunization or vaccination by
a pharmacist. The bill would allow pharmacist immunizations for patients as
young as age 7 under protocol. Last Action: Signed by governor on 6/19
-- takes effect 9/1/2009.
Senate Bill 704: Author: Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, a multipurpose
pharmacy bill that increases transparency in PBM contracts, allows
state-funded health plans to share data about PBM costs and requires mail-order
parity for maintenance medications. The bill was amended late in the
session to include the major provisions of HB 4596 and HB 2293.
Last Action: Signed by governor on 6/19-- takes effect 9/1/2009.
House
Bill 1138: Author: Mark
Shelton, R-Fort Worth, a bill tightening requirements for prescription
coverage and billing information displayed on a pharmacy benefit ID card.
Last Action: Signed by governor on 6/19 -- takes effect 9/1/2009.
Senate
Bill 381: Author: Leticia
Van De Putte, D-San Antonio, a bill relating to the authority of physicians
to delegate to certain pharmacists the implementation and modification of a
patient's drug therapy. Last action: Signed by governor on 6/19 -- takes
effect 9/1/2009.
Texas Political Action Committee -- PharmPAC
 PharmPAC is Texas Pharmacy Association’s political action committee, which
helps fund the campaigns of pharmacy-supportive candidates for the Texas
Legislature and statewide offices.
For
more information on PharmPAC, please click HERE.
HHS Commits $884
Million For H1N1 Vaccine Ingredients
The Health and
Human Services Administration (HHS) has projected that it will spend $884
million to buy two key H1N1 vaccine ingredients, as the government gears up
for a potential swine flu surge this fall. HHS
Press Release
Medtronic
Voluntarily Recalls Insulin Devices
Medtronic voluntarily recalled three million Paradigm Quick-set
insulin-infusion sets, estimating that 2%, or 60,000, of them could cause
improper insulin delivery and lead to serious injury and death. The sets
are used with Minimed Paradigm insulin pumps. Medtronic
Press Release
Obesity Continues
To Rise Among U.S. Adults: CDC
The proportion of U.S. adults who are obese
increased to 26.1% in 2008 from 25.6% a year earlier, according to the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Behavioral Risk Factor
Surveillance System, a state-based telephone survey of more than 400,000
adults. "As obesity increases among all age groups, we are seeing
chronic diseases in much younger adults compared to a few decades
ago," stated Dr. William Dietz, director of CDC's Division of Nutrition,
Physical Activity and Obesity. CDC
Press Release, State-by-State
Report
FDA NEWS
FDA July 14, 2009
• FDA
Approves Plan B One-Step and Lowers Age for Obtaining Two-Dose Plan B
Emergency Contraception without a Prescription
• Information
for Healthcare Professionals: Immunosuppressant Drugs: Required Labeling
Changes
July 9, 2009
• FDA
issues notice about Facts and Myths about Generic Drugs - Fact and Myths
about Generic Drugs
July 7, 2009
• FDA
Takes Actions on Darvon, Other Pain Medications Containing Propoxyphene
July 1, 2009
• Early
Communication About Safety of Lantus (insulin glargine)
• Public
Health Advisory: FDA Requires New Boxed Warnings for the Smoking Cessation
Drugs Chantix and Zyban
• Information
for Healthcare Professionals: Varenicline (marketed as Chantix) and
Bupropion (marketed as Zyban, Wellbutrin, and generics)
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