ALEXANDRIA, Va. – The National Community Pharmacists Association today reiterated to vice president Mike Pence and members of the administration’s Coronavirus Task Force how community pharmacy is ready and willing to assist with fighting the pandemic, as well as allowances needed in order for small business neighborhood pharmacies to continue to provide life-saving assistance to
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – The surge in vertical integration in the health care industry has created “an oligopoly of integrated health care companies controlling nearly all aspects of the health care and pharmacy supply chain,” said the National Community Pharmacists Association in comments submitted Tuesday to the Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A new report by one of the country’s top pharmacy industry analysts shows how giant corporate middlemen are using “obscure” fees to scoop up billions in additional profits at the expense of patients and their neighborhood pharmacies, said the National Community Pharmacists Association on Wednesday. “It should be shocking to state and
One thing that can be said about the state of prescription medications in 2019 is that the pharmacy payment model is complex, convoluted and confusing. That’s how I began this column last year. And although some progress has been made in moving the model toward a system that better serves patients, that sentence still does
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Despite aggressive advocacy efforts by state-based pharmacy organizations and individual New York pharmacists, Gov. Andrew Cuomo this week vetoed legislation to help to rein in costly pharmacy benefit manager practices by giving the superintendent of insurance licensing and regulatory authority over PBMs. This regulatory authority would put an end to the lack
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Seniors would have more convenient access to discounted or “preferred” copays for prescription drugs at their pharmacy of choice under legislation reintroduced Thursday by Reps. Peter Welch (D, Vt.) and Morgan Griffith (R, Va.). The bipartisan legislation is endorsed by the National Community Pharmacists Association. NCPA chief executive officer B. Douglas Hoey
SAN DIEGO — The National Community Pharmacists Association announced Monday that it has teamed up with PRS to launch the NCPA CBD Source, a first-of-its-kind online resource for community pharmacies featuring cannabidiol products as well as general information about the CBD industry. The NCPA CBD Source will serve as an easy-to-navigate website providing pharmacies with
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — In print ads Tuesday in the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal, the National Community Pharmacists Association is urging policymakers to rein in pharmacy benefit managers to help lower drug costs. These ads complement NCPA’s ongoing efforts in its years-long campaign to reform pharmacy direct and indirect remuneration (DIR) fees, a
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — When the West Virginia Medicaid agency started managing the Medicaid managed care prescription drug benefit directly in July 2017, state officials were relying on an actuarial study forecasting a $30 million savings for the state. This week, the West Virginia Bureau for Medical Services released a report showing actual savings of $54.4
ARLINGTON, Va.— The National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) and the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) Tuesday lauded 24 patient and consumer groups for advocating for pharmacy direct and indirect remuneration (DIR) fee reform. In a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator
METAIRIE, La. — U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar yesterday visited Chateau Drugs and Gifts in Metairie, La., which is owned by National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) members Kerry and Diane Milano, both of whom are registered pharmacists. Azar made the visit to help highlight efforts by the Trump administration to
WASHINGTON — The National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) and the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) Tuesday praised a bipartisan Senate letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar. The letter thanked the Secretary for concepts in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) proposed rule, Modernizing Part D and Medicare Advantage
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A years-long effort led by the National Community Pharmacists Association to build support for a proposal to move pharmacy price concessions to point-of-sale reached a critical milestone on Jan. 25, 2019. Nearly 3,500 pharmacists and 170 patients formally voiced their support for parts of a proposed Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services drug
Editor’s note: This was part of CDR’s 2019 Pharmacy Outlook in the January 7 issue. One thing that can be said about the state of prescription medications in 2019 is that the pharmacy payment model is complex, convoluted and confusing. Over $400 billion dollars are spent on prescription drugs, yet finding someone in the distribution