NCPA endorses House bill on Part D plan pharmacy choice

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The National Community Pharmacists Association on Thursday offered its backing to legislation aimed at improving pharmacy access for seniors with Medicare Part D drug plans.

The Ensuring Seniors Access to Local Pharmacies Act was introduced by Reps. Morgan Griffith, R-Va., and Peter Welch, D-Vt., and would allow pharmacies in medically underserved areas to participate in preferred pharmacy networks under Medicare Part D if they accept the in-network providers’ terms and conditions.

“Consumer choice is hallmark of a free market economy, but many preferred pharmacy Medicare Part D plans effectively limit where seniors can get their prescriptions filled by making seniors pay higher copays if they don’t get their prescriptions from specific large chain or mail order pharmacies,” NCPA CEO Doug Hoey said. “By creating a level field for all pharmacies to compete, H.R. 1939 ensures that seniors can use the pharmacy of their choice, not one assigned to them by a pharmacy benefit manager.”

NCPA said the act would increase competition among pharmacies and Part D plans by expanding the number of pharmacies that oculd offer discounted copays for Medicare Part D drugs. It would particularly help patients in medically underserved communities who rely on independent pharmacies. The organization noted a study from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services from 2014 that found 54% of preferred pharmacy drug plans didn’t meet the government’s threshold for reasonable access to pharmacies.