ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The National Community Pharmacists Association urged leaders in the House of Representatives to enact a slate of bills that would foster access to pharmacy services in Medicare. NCPA said Monday that it submitted comments for a House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee hearing on Medicare and offered suggestions to enhance the program
WASHINGTON — The pace of growth in U.S. health care spending is expected to quicken this year, increasing 5.4% over 2016, according to a report by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Health care spending last year hit $3.4 trillion, an amount that represents a 4.8% increase from 2015, CMS said in a
WASHINGTON — Reps. Morgan Griffith (R., Va.) and Peter Welch (D., Vt.) have reintroduced the Improving Transparency and Accuracy in Medicare Part D Spending Act (H.R. 1038), which community pharmacies say would squelch a growing burden: retroactive direct and indirect remuneration (DIR) fees. The bill, introduced Wednesday in the House of Representatives, would ban the application
WASHINGTON — Republicans want to replace the Affordable Care Act with “universal access” to health care, House GOP members said. The goal is to ensure that everyone can buy or find coverage, a House leadership aide said at a briefing organized by top Republicans. The briefing came amid growing concern about the 20 million people
WASHINGTON — The choices of Tom Price and Seema Verma for top health positions under Donald Trump have reaffirmed the president-elect’s commitment to toppling the Affordable Care Act. Price, a six-term Republican congressman from Georgia and fierce critic of Obamacare, was picked as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), while Verma,
At the start of the month the National Association of Chain Drug Stores concluded a series of successful events in the nation’s economic and cultural capital. The much anticipated annual gathering, known as NACDS Week in New York, brings together leaders from the diverse constituents that comprise the chain pharmacy industry to take stock as
ARLINGTON, Va. — The National Association of Chain Drug Stores said it’s ready to work with President-elect Donald Trump’s nominees to lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Trump on Tuesday named U.S. Rep. Tom Price (R., Ga.) as HHS secretary and Seema
WOONSOCKET, R.I. — CVS Health has kicked off Project Health, its annual campaign to foster access to primary care and promote a preventive approach to health care. CVS said Wednesday that, from Sept. 8 to Dec. 18, it will provide nearly $8 million of free health services through more than 500 Project Health events at
Persistence is paying off for the National Community Pharmacists Association in its advocacy for more transparency with DIR fees. In a posting in its “The Dose” blog this week, NCPA noted that it continues to build congressional support in getting the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to finalize its guidance on direct and
On February 1, 2016, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released its Final Rule interpreting the provisions of the 2010 health care reform law that address the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program (MDRP). While much of the Final Rule speaks to drug manufacturer rights and responsibilities in the MDRP, significant portions are directly applicable
WASHINGTON — A new study by personnel of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) projects that health care spending in the United States will exceed $10,000 per person this year. The report, published in the health policy journal Health Affairs, predicts that health care spending growth is accelerating after several years of unusually
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Nearly 50 members of Congress have called on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to finalize its proposed guidance on how Medicare Part D sponsors report pharmacy price concessions, also known as direct and indirect remuneration (DIR) fees. The National Community Pharmacists Association said that 16 senators and 30 representatives
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The National Community Pharmacists Association has joined with a group of pharmacy industry stakeholders in calling for more clarity about direct and indirect (DIR) fees. NCPA said that this week it teamed up with 21 other organizations — including drug chains, drug suppliers, drug cooperatives and pharmacy associations, among others — in
The National Association of Chain Drug Stores reports that final average manufacturer price (AMP)-based federal upper limits (FULs) are set to be published by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) late this month. Once instituted, the final AMP-based FULs will “significantly change” Medicaid pharmacy reimbursement for branded and generic drugs, according to NACDS.
