Advocacy

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — All told, as many as 118 healthcare organizations have signed letters supporting legislation that would prohibit retroactive pharmacy direct and indirect remuneration (DIR) fees in the Medicare Part D program.

The support is up significantly from last year, when more than 95 health care organizations signaled their support in similar letters to the House and Senate last September.

WASHINGTON — Retailers may soon have a voice when it comes to disclosing surcharges related to card payments.

The Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday, March 29, that First Amendment free speech rights should be considered when determining how merchants disclose to their shoppers that credit card swipe fees can drive up the price of merchandise.

WOONSOCKET, R.I. — CVS Health on Wednesday officially announced the opioid overdose-reversal medicine naloxone is available without a prescription at all CVS Pharmacy locations in Iowa.

WASHINGTON — The Natural Products Association last week hosted its members from across the nation for its 20th Annual Natural Products Day in the nation's capital.  NPD attendees, which included retailers, suppliers, distributors and other industry consultant members, met with more than 100 members of Congress and staff to educate them on the industry’s issues and natural products’ roles in preventive health care and overall wellness.

OLYMPIA, Wash. — The retail pharmacy industry is pursuing legal action against Washington state over a “substantively and procedurally flawed” rule  that would pay pharmacies below the actual cost to dispense Medicaid prescriptions.

The National Association of Chain Drug Stores joined the Washington State Pharmacy Association and the National Community Pharmacists Association in preventing a rule that would jeopardize patient access to their medications, the associations said.

SEATTLE — Bartell Drugs is now offering treatments for a variety of minor medical care needs via network of certified pharmacists.

Stores offering these services include the following locations in Washington State: 5th & Olive, Issaquah, North Bend, Factoria, Broadway and Pike, Silver Lake, Redondo, Magnolia, Burien, Lower Queen Anne, Riverton Heights, and Lake Serene.

Genoa, a QoL healthcare company, has put mental health care at the center of its business model — almost all of its 357 locations are located within community mental health centers in 42 states and the District of Columbia, and its telepsychiatry services serve 24 states. In a recent study published by the Journal of Managed Care Pharmacy, patients who had their prescriptions filled at a Genoa on-site pharmacy on-site at their community mental health center had adherence rates of 96%, with a 40 % lower rate of behavioral health related hospitalizations than the control group.

WOONSOCKET, R.I. — CVS Health is teaming up with the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy and the Pittsburgh Public Schools that will bring its prescription drug abuse prevention program, Pharmacists Teach, to students in the Pittsburgh Public Schools.