ALEXANDRIA, Va. — For two days last week, hundreds of independent community pharmacists came to Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., to share with Congress real solutions to the problem of skyrocketing prescription drug costs. The community pharmacists also received policy updates from U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and other guest
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — As pharmacy benefit manager executives prepare to be hauled before Congress next week to defend their business practices, community pharmacists are eagerly awaiting release of a drug pricing rule that, if finalized as proposed, would move pharmacy price concessions to point-of-sale, eliminating the retroactive nature of pharmacy direct and indirect remuneration (DIR) fees. Since 2014,
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
DUBLIN, Ohio — Cardinal Health announced today it has acquired Mirixa Corp., a leading provider of technology-enabled solutions for the provision of medication therapy management (MTM) services, from the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA). The business will integrate into OutcomesMTM, a pioneer in the MTM market, at Cardinal Health. This expanded portfolio from Cardinal Health will bring
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A new drug pricing rule, proposed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and released Monday, Nov. 26, considers policies theNational Community Pharmacy Association and CMS say will lower patients’ out-of-pocket costs at the pharmacy counter and lead to a more competitive and efficient part D program. NCPA advocated aggressively
WASHINGTON – As President Trump signs H.R. 6, the Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment (SUPPORT) for Patients and Communities Act, several National Community Pharmacists Association-supported provisions contained in the opioid package become law. NCPA chief executive officer B. Douglas Hoey and Karry La Violette, NCPA’s senior vice president of government affairs and director
WASHINGTON— Four National Community Pharmacists Association leaders joined President Trump at the White House today as he signed legislation prohibiting so-called pharmacy “gag clauses” that may result in patients being charged inflated prices for their medications. Attending were newly-installed president Bill Osborn, owner of Osborn Drugs in Miami, Okla.; NCPA board members Michele M. Belcher, owner of Grants
ARLINGTON, Va. — Allied Against Opioid Abuse (AAOA), a national initiative to help prevent prescription opioid abuse and misuse through education, has created a pharmacy toolkit to equip pharmacists with resources to engage and educate patients about the safe use, storage and disposal of pain medicines. AAOA, along with its founding member, the Healthcare Distribution Alliance (HDA),
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — National Community Pharmacists Association’s chief executive officer Douglas Hoey announced that Anne Cassity has joined NCPA as vice president, federal and state government affairs, as the organization continues to grow its advocacy influence. A seasoned government affairs professional, Cassity formerly managed NCPA’s federal advocacy program. She left NCPA in 2011 to become health care