ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Later this month, hundreds of community pharmacists will head to Washington, D.C., to advocate for independent pharmacy and their patients at the National Community Pharmacists Association’s 2016 Congressional Pharmacy Summit. The two-day event, formerly known as the NCPA Legislative Conference, will feature community pharmacy and patient advocate Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R.,Wash.)
WASHINGTON — The National Association of Chain Drug Stores and the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) sent a letter to the chairmen and ranking members of the House Armed Services Committee and the Senate Armed Services Committee urging them to reject calls to increase retail community pharmacist co-payments, thereby protecting Tricare beneficiary access. The letter
ARLINGTON, Va. — Legislation that would improve efforts to fight prescription drug abuse without impeding legitimate patients’ access to medication is set to go before President Barack Obama to be signed into law. The House of Representatives on Tuesday passed the Ensuring Patient Access and Effective Drug Enforcement Act of 2016 (S. 483) in the
According to the Network for Excellence in Health Innovation (NEHI), up to approximately $290 billion a year is wasted on the improper use of medications. Evidence suggests the most effective way to drive medication adherence is to strengthen the relationship between patients and pharmacists. In fact, a study commissioned by the National Community Pharmacists Association
WASHINGTON — The National Association of Chain Drug Stores and the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) have urged congressional leaders to decline increases to prescription co-payments in TRICARE, the U.S. armed forces health benefits program. Referring to the Fiscal 2017 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), NACDS and NCPA sent a pair of letters to the
ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Senate has passed the Ensuring Patient Access and Effective Drug Enforcement Act of 2016 (S. 483), which is seen as striking a balance between fighting drug abuse and upholding legitimate drug use. The National Association of Chain Drug Stores, which supports the bill, said Friday that the measure would advance
The National Community Pharmacists Association has given a rundown of what it described as a “wide-ranging” 228-page call letter by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) concerning proposed revisions to Medicare Part D prescription drug plans in 2017. In a blog post this week, NCPA outlined some of the key changes that community
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Though the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has improved Medicare Part D patient access to preferred pharmacies, more work needs to be done, according to the National Community Pharmacists Association. NCPA on Friday applauded a statement released by CMS that the agency’s efforts to boost access to preferred pharmacies across
ARLINGTON, Va. — The National Association of Chain Drug Stores was working with member companies at presstime to review the final rule on Medicaid prescription reimbursements. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) says the 658-page rule — which takes effect April 1 after a comment period — establishes a regulatory definition for average
After years of political and legal wrangling, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued its final rule on Covered Outpatient Drugs, which governs reimbursement to retail pharmacies for generic medications dispensed under Medicaid. The history of the regulation goes all the way back to the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (DRA), which
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — In comments to Congress, the National Community Pharmacists Association called for more oversight of pharmacy benefit management (PBM) companies. NCPA said payers, pharmacy patients and pharmacists could see “tangible benefits” from increased transparency into PBM business practices and potential conflicts of interests. The association submitted its comments to the House Committee on
WASHINGTON — The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued the Covered Outpatient Drugs final rule with comment, which the National Association of Chain Drug Stores said includes “significant changes” to Medicaid pharmacy reimbursement for generic drugs based on the average manufacturer price (AMP) model. Released on Thursday and due to be published
PRINCETON, N.J. — Pharmacists rank high in terms of public trust, but they fall short of being No. 1. Nurses topped Gallup’s Honesty and Ethics of Professions rankings for 2015, a feat that the profession has accomplished every year but one since it was added to the list in 1999. The exception is 2001, when
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Both patients and pharmacists give high marks to medication synchronization programs, according to a recent survey by the National Community Pharmacists Association. NCPA said Monday that the poll of member pharmacies using its Simplify My Meds (SMM) program asked several open-ended questions, and respondents “overwhelmingly” noted that med sync has raised efficiency
