NACDS and the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) today praised a bipartisan Senate letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar.
Rebecca Bubel, RPh, 2019 NACDS Regional Chain Conference chair and senior director of store operations, Kinney Drugs, Inc.
The National Association of Chain Drug Stores’ (NACDS) campaign-style approach to the issues crucial for pharmacy value and viability dominated today’s opening session of the 2019 NACDS Regional Chain Conference.
NACDS’ top-priority issue of direct and indirect remuneration (DIR) fee reform headlined the discussion of the Association’s “Access Agenda” – which emphasizes that pharmacies provide access to health policy solutions, just as they provide access to vital health services every day in neighborhoods across the nation.
Mark Panzer, NACDS Chairman of the Board and senior vice president, pharmacy and health & wellness, Albertsons Companies, said, “NACDS talks about our Access Agenda, and its three parts: offense, defense, and addressing the wellbeing of our communities. On offense, we are enhancing access to newer services. When we talk about defense, we are talking about preserving patients’ access to care. And that means DIR fee reform. The third area – working as partners for stronger and safer communities – includes helping to solve opioid abuse. This remains an important issue, where we have seen progress and where we remain committed.”
“Across all of our NACDS issues and services, here is the message that I want to give to you today, and it’s from my view as the NACDS chairman and as an industry veteran. NACDS has never been better equipped to deliver the value that we as members expect, and need – even on the toughest of issues.”
NACDS President and CEO Steven C. Anderson, IOM, CAE, led an interactive discussion including members of the NACDS senior staff regarding advocacy on DIR fee reform, broader reimbursement issues, opioid-abuse prevention and expanding pharmacy’s scope of business.
“What we are not doing is just ‘working the issues,’” Anderson stated. “What we are doing is waging campaigns – tough campaigns. Working the issues is waiting for things to happen. Waging campaigns is making things happen, and doing so with everything we have – consistently, creatively, aggressively, passionately, cohesively, and as a modern political and advocacy organization.”
In the pursuit of DIR fee reform and other ways to help [ READ MORE ]
Patient advocacy groups and allies—including NACDS member companies, state associations and others—have joined together in urging HHS to implement DIR reform.
NACDS, The National Community Pharmacists Association and the National Association of Specialty Pharmacy joined forces in a letter to HHS on DIR reform.
NACDS is urging support for a bipartisan Senate letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar on DIR fee reform.
Based on insights from member pharmacies that serve as the front lines of healthcare delivery, the National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) has submitted extensive and thoroughly documented comments to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services in support of the agency’s proposal to reform direct and indirect remuneration (DIR) fees – reform that relates directly to reducing patients’ out-of-pocket drug costs.
KEY FACTS
“The proposed changes are consistent with several of the Administration’s priorities, including the goal to reduce prescription drug costs for patients; improve the Medicare program; and use ‘[Department of Health and Human Services] programs to build a value-driven healthcare system. We therefore strongly urge CMS to use its current authority to further update the Part D Program by implementing these much-needed reforms in the final rule…NACDS members’ experiences confirm that the abuses and harms of pharmacy DIR fees are genuine. And the situation is rapidly growing worse, as abusive pharmacy DIR fees continue to grow exponentially. Pharmacies are calling on CMS to eliminate these and other harms now, by implementing reforms to eliminate pharmacy DIR fees.”
– NACDS’ comments to CMS READ FULL PRESS RELEASE READ COMMENTS
Each NACDS member company has a powerful opportunity to submit official comments to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) in support of direct and indirect remuneration (DIR) fee reform concepts described in the agency’s proposed rule, “Modernizing Part D and Medicare Advantage to Lower Drug Prices and Reduce Out-of-Pocket Expenses.” The deadline to submit your company’s comments is January 25, 2019, at 5:00 p.m. EST.
When joining in this important movement, please keep in mind it is more effective for your company’s comments to reflect the authentic voice of the company, rather than to resemble a template. The main point to convey – with your company’s own voice – is that DIR fee reform is vital for helping to reduce patients’ out-of-pocket drug costs at the pharmacy counter, and for the viability of pharmacy patient care and the value that this care creates in the form of reductions in overall healthcare costs. Please urge CMS to take swift action on the DIR fee reform aspects of “file code CMS-4180-P” – and to assure that DIR fee reform is implemented for plan year 2020.
Other tips for submitting impactful comments include:
In the development of your comments, please feel free to contact Tom O’Donnell, NACDS’ senior vice president of government affairs and public policy, at (703) 837-4216 or todonnell@nacds.org.
Thank you in advance for planning now to submit your company’s comments for arrival at CMS by the January 25, 2019, 5:00 p.m. EST deadline.
NACDS, WSPA, and NCPA applaud action by the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to reject Washington State’s below-cost and lowest-in-the-nation Medicaid pharmacy dispensing fees.
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