ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The National Community Pharmacists Association Foundation has announced its planned activities during the NCPA 2018 Annual Convention in Boston, Mass. on Oct. 6-9. The Foundation’s booth in the NCPA exhibit hall will offer attendees the opportunity to learn about Foundation programs: Dispose My Meds, a national medication disposal program; disaster relief grants, which help
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Ask pharmacist Hashim Zaibak how he came to own 11 pharmacies (all under the Hayat Pharmacy umbrella) in Milwaukee, and he’ll tell you about a workshop he attended several years ago, conducted by the National Community Pharmacists Association. “I had wanted to own my own store since pharmacy school,” Zaibak said, “But my training was in pharmacy, not business,
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
WASHINGTON — The National Association of Chain Drug Stores and the National Community Pharmacists Association have submitted comments to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) as it mulls Medicare Part D prescription drug program changes for the 2019 contract year. NACDS said Wednesday that in its comments to CMS the association expressed support for and provided added input
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”
More often than not, independent drug stores are overshadowed by the big retail chains. While it’s understandable why individual pharmacists who own one or two locations do not receive the same level of attention as the top pharmacy operators, the largest of which each have thousands of stores across the United States, in the aggregate
OLYMPIA, Wash. — The National Association of Chain Drug Stores, National Community Pharmacists Association and Washington State Pharmacy Association (WSPA) are challenging changes to Medicaid pharmacy reimbursement in Washington state. NACDS said Thursday that it teamed with NCPA and WSPA in filing a legal brief last week for a case involving the changes, which the
ARLINGTON, Va. — The National Association of Chain Drug Stores and the National Community Pharmacists Association have called on lawmakers to extend the TRICARE Prescription Drug Acquisition Cost Parity Pilot Program. NACDS and NCPA have sent a letter to House of Representatives and Senate Armed Services Committee leaders urging them to support a one-year extension
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — With tax reform now topping the congressional and Trump administration agendas, the National Community Pharmacists Association is speaking up on behalf of independent pharmacies. NCPA said Tuesday that it has sent a letter to Sen. Orrin Hatch (R., Utah), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, and Rep. Kevin Brady (R., Texas), chairman
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The National Community Pharmacists Association and the Arkansas Pharmacists Association (APA) have filed an amici curiae brief in federal court against a challenge by the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA). NCPA said the brief, filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, supports Arkansas in a lawsuit initiated by
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
