Senate approves equal pharmacy access for military and their families

ALEXANDRIA, Va. The National Association of Chain Drug Stores issued a letter to a New Jersey senator yesterday for his support in their fight to prevent an increase in co-payments for military beneficiaries.

Senator Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., was thanked for sponsoring an amendment to prohibit increased co-payments to those beneficiaries using retail pharmacies in the TRICARE health benefits program. TRICARE is the military health program that provides care to over 9 million uniformed personnel, their families and retired military worldwide.

“Keeping equal access to chain community pharmacy for our U.S. military and their families is a priority for NACDS,” stated NACDS President and chief executive officer, Steve Anderson, “We applaud Senator Lautenberg’s leadership in introducing the amendment, which shows great support for our nation’s military. We look forward to continuing to work with the Senator and his colleagues to pass H.R. 1585, and continue to develop policy solutions that maximize competition and protect choice for TRICARE beneficiaries.”

The amendment was subsequently adopted as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for 2008 (H.R. 1585), which is currently being debated in the Senate. The amendment will ensure that TRICARE patients would not be inclined to use mail order rather than local retail pharmacies because of co-payment increase.