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Texas
Pharmacy Business Council is an organization of
American Pharmacies and the Academy of Independent
Pharmacists-Texas.
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TDI pharmacy help
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The
Texas Department of Insurance has a Pharmacist
Resource Page that includes links to complaint
forms and advises when the next Pharmacy Outreach
Conference Call will be held.
Add this
link to
your online "favorites" list.
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Texas legislation success
list |
Regulation
of Rx discount cards
PBM
transparency in state contracts
Mail
order
parity | | |
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Mission #1: Re-Elect
Chuck Hopson
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Hope you were able to enjoy the holiday
season, 'cause now we have some serious work to
do: re-elect Chuck Hopson, RPh, to the Texas House
of Representatives.
Chuck is
indispensable to pharmacy, if you'll pardon the
pun!Seriously, I can't
overstate how important Chuck is to pharmacy and
in particular, independent pharmacy. We just
experienced our best legislative session in
history, but we still have a ways to go to affect
existing laws, enact new ones, and protect against
reimbursement cuts. For 10 years, Chuck has
been the go-to guy for every single House bill
that affects pharmacy. His long-standing
relationships and the respect he's earned from
other elected officials have put him in just the
right spot to influence these bills. He didn't
have to be the bill author, he didn't even have to
have his name attached to it at all. But he was
there, in the background, explaining nuances of
the bills to fellow representatives. He
faces two very well-funded primary opponents which
means we MUST help him win the March 2 election
straight up. Otherwise, it will cost even more to
help fund a runoff campaign. He
needs our help, and he needs it NOW! Primary
voting begins Feb. 26 for the March 2
election.Here's how you can
help: 
CONTRIBUTIONSChuck was key
in the Medicaid dispensing fee increase. With that
in mind, please consider donating $250 per store
for his campaign. Click
here to make an online contribution or send a
check to:
Chuck Hopson
Campaign
506 E.
Commerce
Jacksonville, Texas
75766
Your
contribution MUST be from PERSONAL accounts, NOT
BUSINESS accounts! JOIN US WALKING THE
DISTRICTTwo dates are
designated to gather with your fellow pharmacists
to distribute campaign materials in Chuck's East
Texas district. Save these dates and we'll send
more information about the time gathering
spot.
- Saturday, Feb. 6
- Saturday, Feb. 27
HELP STAFF CHUCK'S
PHARMACYYou can imagine the
challenge he faces trying to get out to visit with
his constituency AND keep his Jacksonville
pharmacy in business. The opportunities to help in
this capacity are almost unlimited. Contact his
campaign headquarters at 903-586-2208 or info@chuckhopson.com.Please, don't delay
sending your contributions.What you send today is
more valuable than what you send next
week.
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Preparing for challenges
of 2011
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We're only a
few days into 2010, but the work has begun for the
82nd session of the Texas Legislature that begins
at noon, Tuesday, Jan. 11, 2011. That date is much
closer than you may think and we have lots of work
to do. I am reviewing our
interim strategy and will assign our consultants
to the following issues:
- Political races & contributions,
- interim studies,
- state agency monitoring and rule making,
- Medicaid budget and appropriation requests,
and
- Employees Retirement System and Teachers
Retirement System.
Last week the executive
branch told agencies to plan on a 5 percent budget
cut, meaning we will have to protect our recent
gains.We also are reviewing
all of our legislation from the past session so we
can present suggested legislative strategies at
the TPBC board meeting. We will combine these
suggestions with the board's input to develop
legislative initiatives.
Also, American
Pharmacies President Mike Gohlke and I are
collaborating on new financials and an updated
budget to present to the TPBC board of
directors.
Stay
tuned!
Richard E. Beck,
RPh
Executive Director, Texas Pharmacy Business
Council
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51 House members sign
letter for Medicaid generic pharmacy
reimbursement
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Four Texas
congressional representatives are among the 51 who
sent a letter last week to U.S. House of
Representatives leadership asking that the House
accept the Senate's position on Medicaid pharmacy
reimbursement in health care reform. The Senate
bill would set a more favorable Medicaid generic
pharmacy reimbursement. This is a GREAT response
to community pharmacy's request to House members
for help on this issue.
- Eddie Bernice Johnson [D-Dallas]
- Lloyd Doggett [D-Austin]
- Charles Gonzalez [D-San Antonio]
- Sheila Jackson Lee
[D-Houston]
Please take the time to
review the list and see if your Member of Congress
is one of the four and call to thank them for all
their help on this issue! Click
here to find
your U.S. Representative and his or her contact
information. Remember, thank yous are just as
important as the original
request. |
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Reminder:
Submit PBM complaints to TDI |
The Texas Department of
Insurance is available to assist TPBC members with
processing and resolution of complaints against
insurers and pharmacy benefit managers. Utilizing TDI as your
dispute adjudicator saves you time and money
fighting insurers and PBMs.
You may
submit complaints on a variety of issues,
including prompt and correct payment of health
care claims and audit disputes. In 2009, TDI
launched a pharmacy outreach initiative and TPBC
staff has worked closely with TDI representatives
since that time to ensure that TDI assists
pharmacists in resolving issues related to
- insurance
and HMO coverage,
- workers'
compensation coverage, and
- requirements
for claims processing and payment.
Click
here to visit and bookmark the TDI
pharmacy-specific Web site. In addition to
important information and resources for
pharmacists, it also has a link to file an electronic complaint.
There will be instances
when TDI is unable to assist you due to a lack of
legal jurisdiction over your dispute, depending on
the type of claims involved, but we encourage you
to submit any and all complaints regarding
insurers and PBMs to TDI the agency will have a
better understanding of the nature and extent of
your ongoing problems with these entities. TPBC
staff can collaborate with TDI representatives on
administrative and legislative solutions to
address your complaints.
Bookmark
the links above and make your complaints
known! Please e-mail any questions or
comments regarding this topic to Amanda C. Fields, General
Counsel.
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Texas
Pharmacy Business Council
Ensuring patient access to
quality pharmacy care services,
the viability of
community pharmacy and the pharmacy
profession.
1001
Congress Ave., Suite 250, Austin, TX 78701
512.992.1219
Richard
E. Beck,
RPh, Executive Director
www.TxRxCouncil.org | | |
