Pharmacy owners see hopeful signs beyond near-term challenges

Drug Store News,  Nov 12, 2007  by Jim Frederick

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ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Despite the hardships many pharmacy owners say they face, the National Community Pharmacists Association's Annual Convention & Trade Expo also provided some good news. NCPA leaders who addressed attendees described growing support in Congress for a number of legislative relief packages critical to pharmacy owners.

NCPA executive vice president and chief executive officer Bruce Roberts ticked off the victories, minor and major, that independent pharmacy operators collectively won over the past 12 months, often in partnership with the National Association of Chain Drug Stores and other groups. Among them:

* Winning a six-month delay in the implementation of new regulations requiring the use of tamper-proof prescription pads, thanks to an intensive lobbying effort that yielded an 11thhour act of Congress and the signature of President George W. Bush on a revised 2008 defense appropriation bill at the end of September;

* Preventing the shifting of 55 million prescriptions from community pharmacy to mail order facilities in the military TRICARE health program by turning aside mandatory mail provisions in that program. "This year, we have built on that success, and we now have favorable language in both the House and Senate versions of the Defense Reauthorization Bill that will stop any further movement to mail order," Roberts said.

* Stopping what Roberts called a "misguided, overbearing legislative measure that would have required the FDA to regulate your compounding practice, possibly putting you out of the compounding business."

* The rapid and significant expansion of NCPA's Political Action Committee, which Roberts said has quickly amassed a war chest of nearly $1 million, thanks to member donations. That puts the independent pharmacy PAC among the top 50 now working the halls of Congress, he said.

* Forward momentum on a bill to waive some antitrust provisions to allow independent pharmacies to collectively negotiate for better contract terms with PBMs and other third-party payers [see story on page 23]. Among the lawmakers who have signed on to the effort is Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., the powerful chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.

* Continuing progress on legislation to alter a Medicaid prescription payment formula--due to take effect Jan. 30, 2008--that would significantly reduce reimbursements for generic drugs dispensed under the Medicaid program by tying state payments to a drug's AMP.

* The achievement of "real progress" on prompt-pay Medicare legislation, with nearly half of the Senate Finance Committee now signed on as co-sponsors. "On the other side of the Hill, a majority of House members have cosponsored our prompt-pay bill, as well," Roberts told NCPA delegates.

Indeed, with more than 200 bipartisan co-sponsors in Congress supporting passage of the Fair and Speedy Treatment of Medicare Prescription Drug Claims Act of 2007, Tilley said, legislative relief may be in sight. "The time is now for passage of this prompt-pay bill," he asserted.

Roberts also cited the creation of the new Congressional Community Pharmacy Caucus, composed of pharmacy-friendly legislators working to maintain the viability of the profession.

"The formation of the ... caucus is clear evidence that Congress is listening," he told NCPA members. "The Caucus was launched with 34 bipartisan founding members, and now has nearly 50 members."

Also on NCPA's docket: working to minimize the impact of legislation requiring pharmacy retailers to establish the pedigree of every drug they carry; and "dealing with durable medical equipment competitive bidding issues" surrounding the Medicare Part B program, Roberts said, "to ensure our ability to continue providing these services."

Education sessions and discussion groups explored opportunities in such areas as MTM, immunizations and compounding. Speakers included Oscar-winning actress Geena Davis, a trustee of the Women's Sports Foundation and founder of See Jane, which seeks to reduce gender stereotyping in media for children; and former major league pitcher Jim Abbott, who despite being born without a right hand, went on to pitch a no-hitter for the New York Yankees and to win a gold medal with the U.S. baseball team in the 1988 Olympics.

JIM FREDERICK

SENIOR EDITOR

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