What the AHCA could mean for pharmacy
On Monday, the Senate took up the issue of health care reform with the promise to start from scratch in the aftermath of the May 4 passage of the American Health Care Act in the House of Representatives. Even as the work remains ahead, one of the questions facing the industry is what impact it would have if the version that passed the House became law.
One of the key aspects of the version of AHCA is that pharmacists are largely absent, in the view of the National Community Pharmacists Association. When the bill passed the House, NCPA CEO Doug Hoey released a statement highlighting the “substantial revisions” that the legislation would require for it to pass the Senate.
"House Republicans considered and passed this legislation under a process that greatly limited what provisions and policies could be considered germane, excluding virtually any of interest to community pharmacies,” Hoey said. “Lawmakers intend to develop subsequent health care legislation to fill in the gaps. NCPA and its members will continue to engage lawmakers to champion priorities for community pharmacies during this process.”
As the Senate takes up the task of drafting their own legislation and eventually passing it, stakeholders are interested in staying involved in the process and making sure that pharmacy is represented in the bill,
“Efforts to reform the Affordable Care Act remain a moving target, and it is widely accepted that this will remain a highly dynamic situation among the House, the Senate and the administration,“ the National Association of Chain Drug Stores told Drug Store News. “Just know that NACDS is advocating every step of the way, particularly to advance the concept of a strong pharmacy benefit in Medicaid, Medicare and other programs. In fact, we are sharing with members of Congress the opinion research that we announced recently. This research shows strong public appreciation and support for the accessibility of pharmacies and for pharmacy benefits in these programs.”
The Kaiser Family Foundation, in a comparison between the Affordable Care Act and the AHCA, notes that the AHCA implements a per-person cap on Medicaid spending on the elderly, blind and disabled, children, adults covered if a state decides to offer a Medicaid expansion and other adults based on 2016 expenditures. This could have an impact in the pharmacy, as according to the QuintilesIMS Institute’s latest report on the use of medicines in 2016, Medicaid prescriptions made up 14.1% of all prescriptions dispensed last year.
Manufacturers are focused on making sure patients retain access to medication by remaining involved in the process.
“Our response on the bill is ensuring patients have access to the medicines they need is our top priority,” Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America senior director of public affairs Holly Campbell told Drug Store News. “As Congress considers reforms to our health care system, we look forward to continuing to work with them to enhance the competitive market, ensure patients have access to affordable health care and foster the continued development of new innovative medicines.”
The AHCA could play a key role in freeing up manufacturer resources for innovation, as it repeals the Affordable Care Act’s planned $13.9 billion pharmaceutical manufacturer tax for 2017, as well as 2018’s planned $4.1 billion tax and the $2.8 billion tax planned for 2019 and beyond, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. Additionally, the AHCA repeals the annual fee associated with Medicare paid by drug makers starting this year.