Lawmakers’ advocacy forges new ties with industry

WASHINGTON —Formalizing a growing bond between law-makers and independent and chain drug store operators, a group of community pharmacy’s most reliable supporters in Congress have formed a new, bipartisan task force to spearhead the interests of community pharmacies and the patients they serve.

The new group, called the Congressional Community Pharmacy Coalition, is charged with preserving patient access to community pharmacies, according to the National Community Pharmacists Association, “by restoring fairness and pragmatism to a healthcare system that devalues these small business owners who often reside in under-served rural and urban communities.” NCPA, for its part, was actively involved in the coalition’s formation.

The coalition is centered in the House of Representatives. Serving as its co-chairs are four members of Congress who often voice support for pharmacy’s interests: Reps. Marion Berry, D-Ark., Cathy McMorris-Rodgers, R-Wash., Jerry Moran, R-Kan., and Anthony Weiner, D-N.Y. A total of 27 other House members agreed to sign on as inaugural members.

Coalition lawmakers are pursuing several bills in the 110th Congress to ease the burdens imposed on pharmacy retailers by slow payments for Medicare Part D prescriptions, a shift in Medicaid generic prescription payments to a new, lower reimbursement formula and other threats. Among the bills coalition leaders have introduced or co-sponsored are H.R.1474, the Fair and Speedy Treatment of Medicare Prescription Drug Act; H.R.3140, the Saving Our Community Pharmacies Act; and H.R.971, the Community Pharmacy Fairness Act.

“The Congressional Community Pharmacy Coalition has the simple goal of treating community pharmacies with the type of respect they deserve,” Moran said. “That goal will be met by passing bills such as H.R. 3140, which establishes a reimbursement benchmark that actually reflects pharmacy acquisition cost for Medicaid generic prescription drugs. The clock is ticking because in a few months the reimbursement system will cause pharmacy doors to close by gutting those payments to an economically unsustainable level.”

Moran joined with Berry, McMorris-Rodgers and Weiner to announce the new advocacy group at a teleconference press briefing hosted by NCPA Sept. 27. Among the issues they addressed: the slow reimbursement of Medicare Part D claims; the pending cut in Medicaid generic prescription drug reimbursement and the inability to negotiate reasonable contracts with pharmacy benefit managers.

“The deck is stacked against community pharmacies,” Weiner said. “This coalition wants to level the playing field for our neighborhood pharmacists with the big chains of the world by providing prompt payment under Medicare Part D, a fair reimbursement rate under Medicaid and better negotiating rights for our essential community pharmacies.”

“The reality is that many patients will suffer if Congress doesn’t step up to create a reasonable business environment for community pharmacies to operate in,” said McMorris Rodgers. “That’s why I view the Congressional Community Pharmacy Coalition as being more than a legislative group dedicated to advancing common-sense small business measures, but as championing the interests of their patients in communities across the country who are seeing their access to these trusted health-care professionals threatened.”

NCPA executive vice president and chief executive officer Bruce Roberts praised the group’s formation. “The cavalry has arrived to restore the way community pharmacies ought to be treated,” he said. “The Congressional Community Pharmacy Coalition has put partisanship aside to recognize that these small business owners are a critical cog in the wheel that keeps the American people healthy and our economy vibrant.”

The coalition’s other members include Reps. Robert Aderholt, R-Ala., Michael Arcuri, DN.Y., Roy Blunt, R-Mo., John Boozman, R-Ark., Chris Carney, D-Pa., Geoff Davis, R-Ky., Lincoln Davis, D-Tenn., Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, Thelma Drake, R-Va., Jo Ann Emerson, R-Mo., Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., Maurice Hinchey, D-N.Y., Peter Hoekstra, R-Mich., Walter Jones, R-N.C., Nick Lampson, D-Texas, Frank LoBiondo, RN.J., Charlie Melancon, D-La., Mike McIntyre, D-N.C., Solomon Ortiz, D-Texas, Ciro Rodriguez, D-Texas, Mike Ross, D-Ark., Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, D-S.D., Peter Sessions, R-Texas, Todd Tiahrt, R-Kan., Greg Walden, R-Ore., Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and Charles Wilson, D-Ohio.

In a related move just days prior to the formation of the new group, more than 70 executives and representatives from U.S. pharmacy companies staged a “fly-in” into the nation’s capitol to appeal directly to members of Congress for help in dealing with new Medicaid reimbursement rules and other issues. The event was staged jointly by NCPA, the National Association of Chain Drug Stores and the Food Marketing Institute.