ARLINGTON, Va. – In a statement to the Senate Finance Committee Thursday, the National Association of Chain Drug Stores stressed the importance of finalizing Health and Human Services (HHS) secretary Alex Azar’s proposals to reform pharmacy direct and indirect remuneration (DIR) fees, and of developing a standardized pharmacy quality incentive program. “The FY2020 HHS Budget
The National Association of Chain Drug Stores was at the top of its game during the Regional Chain Conference in Palm Beach, Fla., earlier this month. Often overshadowed by the association’s larger events, this hidden gem provides attendees with an initial look at the objectives that NACDS and its members will pursue during the course
DIR (direct and indirect remuneration) fees are increasing — creating greater and greater financial challenges for retail pharmacies. In the second quarter of 2018, DIR accounted for 1.13% of sales and, year-to-date, it is trending at 1% of sales. For the same period last year, DIR was running at 0.9% of sales. On top of
ARLINGTON, Va. – The National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) has submitted comments to Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar in response to the agency’s request-for-information on drug-pricing public policy issues. “We believe there are numerous opportunities to achieve the goals of lowering the financial burdens on patients and making prescription drugs more
ARLINGTON, Va. — The “untenable” procedures around direct and indirect remuneration fees (DIR fees) can be righted with measures reducing costs for beneficiaries and the government, while promoting a more quality-driven health care system, says the National Association of Chain Drug Stores. NACDS expressed that message in comments to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid
Suffice it to say, community pharmacies are getting squeezed by retroactive DIR fees. That’s what the results of a survey from the National Community Pharmacists Association said. NCPA reported Friday that, because of retroactive direct and indirect remuneration fees, 84% of independent pharmacy owners polled said they don’t know what their final reimbursement will be at
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Pharmacy retailers and suppliers have a world of possibilities in front of them amid an evolving retail health care landscape, industry executives said at the 2018 NACDS Regional Chain Conference. The conference gathered regional drug and supermarket chains (four to 250 locations) with supplier partners that help meet their customers’ health and wellness
WASHINGTON — In recent testimony before the House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health, National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) chief executive officer B. Douglas Hoey said pharmacists can drive better health outcomes and reduce costs, but first pharmacy benefit managers’ problematic business practices must be addressed through legislative and regulatory channels. As an
Community pharmacy owners occupy a critical position in the pharmacy marketplace and, even more importantly, as health care providers in communities across the country. Most stakeholders in the profession understand the vital marketplace check and balance that independent businesses provide. If only two or three megachain drug stores existed, negotiations with payers would look very
At a health subcommittee hearing of the U.S. House of Representatives Energy & Commerce Committee, B. Douglas Hoey, CEO of the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA), called for legislative and regulatory action on pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) business practices to help rein in prescription drug costs. The hearing, titled “Examining the Drug Supply Chain”
WASHINGTON — The National Association of Specialty Pharmacy (NASP) has commended 54 members of the House of Representatives for urging federal agencies to eliminate retroactive Medicare Part D fees charged by big pharmacy benefit managers. The lawmakers sent a letter to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid
GREAT NECK, N.Y. — Rep. Tom Suozzi (D., N.Y.) gauged cost dynamics of the specialty pharmacy market in a tour of oncology pharmacy Onco360 here with members of the National Association of Specialty Pharmacy (NASP). Seeking insight on what’s driving skyrocketing drug costs and the impact on patients, Suozzi met with Sheila Arquette, executive director
WASHINGTON — Pharmacy benefit managers are a key focus of debate about elevated drug pricing that has come before a U.S. Senate committee. The National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) and the Senior Care Pharmacy Coalition (SCPC) called for PBM reform in written testimony submitted to a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee hearing
Direct and indirect remuneration (DIR) is one component of the complex Medicare Part D payment system. In the past several months, the issue of DIR increasingly has become a source of contention between various players in the Part D program. Pharmacies, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), and members of Congress have expressed