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Texas Pharmacy Business
Council is an organization of American Pharmacies
and the Academy of Independent
Pharmacists-Texas.
www.TxRxCouncil.org
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Five Star
PharmacyPhriends |
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* Sen.
Robert Deuell, MD (R-Greenville) : Rx
discount card regulation
* Rep. Dan
Gattis (R-Georgetown): mail order
parity
* Rep.
Yvonne Gonzalez-Toureilles (D-Alice): PBM
regulation, prompt pay, Rx discount card
regulation, transparency in state PBM contracts,
and mail order parity
*
Sen.
Glenn Hegar Jr. (R-Katy): transparency in
state PBM contracts
* Rep.
Chuck Hopson, RPh (D-Jacksonville): PBM
transparency and prompt pay
* Rep.
Todd Hunter (R-Corpus Christi): prompt
pay
* Rep.
Carl Isett (R-Lubbock): PBM
regulation
* Rep.
Lois Kolkhorst (R-Brenham) : transparency
in state PBM
contracts
Rep.
Sid Miller (R-Stephenville): PBM
regulation, transparency in state PBM
contracts
* Sen.
Jane Nelson (R-Flower Mound): transparency
in state PBM contracts, mail order parity, and
mail order pharmacy audit
*
Sen.
Leticia Van de Putte, RPh (D-San
Antonio)
Four
Star
PharmacyPhriends
* Rep. Bill
Callegari (R-Katy): PBM regulation and
prompt pay
* Rep. Bryan
Hughes (R-Mineola): PBM regulation and
prompt pay
* Rep. Eddie Lucio
III (D-Brownsville): PBM
regulation
* Sen. Kirk
Watson (D-Austin): mail order
parity
Three Star
PharmacyPhriends
*
Rep. Alma
Allen (D-Houston): PBM
regulation
* Rep. Roberto
Alonzo (D-Dallas): PBM
regulation
* Rep. Ellen
Cohen (D Houston): PBM
regulation
* Rep. Byron
Cook (R-Corsicanna): transparency in state
PBM contracts and mail order
parity
* Rep. John
Davis (R-Houston): transparency in state
PBM contracts
* Rep. Allen
Fletcher (R-Tomball): PBM regulation and
prompt pay
* Rep. Dan Flynn
(R-Van): mail order parity
*
Rep. Stephen
Frost (D-Atlanta): PBM
regulation
* Rep. Linda
Harper-Brown (R-Irving): PBM
regulation
* Rep. Mark
Homer (D-Paris): transparency in state PBM
contracts
* Rep. Bryan
Hughes (R-Mineola): PBM
regulation
* Rep. Marisa
Marquez (D-El Paso): PBM
regulation
* Rep. Solomon Ortiz
Jr. (D-Corpus Christi) : PBM regulation and
prompt pay
* Rep. David
Swinford (R-Dumas): transparency in state
PBM
contracts |
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Texas legislation success
list |
REGULATION OF Rx DISCOUNT CARDS
PBM TRANSPARENCY IN STATE CONTRACTS
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TPBC celebrates
successes, sets plans for next legislative
session
|
 Many of the board members,
staff and "Phlashers" who testified to the
legislature this past session got together last
month for a celebratory reception and dinner. It
was a wonderful time, reviewing our many successes
and setting the stage for the next legislative
session. This picture shows me and Texas Pharmacy
Business Council Board Chairman Bruce Rogers going
over our "thank you" list at the
reception.
I'm exceptionally pleased to
announce American Pharmacies and the Academy of
Independent Pharmacists-Texas inked an ongoing
contract to continue our successful collaboration
into the future. We are laying out our plans for
the interim before the next session in January
2011. And we also are looking at the issues we'll
concentrate on during the session.
If you
have some issues that are particularly important
to you, we invite you to drop us an e-mail. We
definitely will take your thoughts into
consideration as we continue our steady march
toward protecting our ability to serve our
patients.
CVS / Caremark update
Two letters
delivered recently to the Federal Trade Commission
ask the FTC to
rethink their approval of the
CVS/Caremark merger.
A letter signed by
U.S. senators on both sides of the aisle in
Washington and instigated by Arkansas Democrat
Mark Pryor and Mississippi Republican Roger
Wicker, was delivered July 23. It asks the FTC to
"take appropriate action if CVS/Caremark is
engaging in any anticompetitive or deceptive
practices."
Another letter signed by North
Dakota Democrat Byron Dorgan, Wisconsin Democrat
Russ Feingold, and Minnesota Democrat Amy
Klobuchar and delivered July 28 asks the FTC to
take a look at the heightened opportunity for
anticompetitive or deceptive practices.
Independent pharmacy has a huge ally in
the PBM reform fight.
A large
consortium of labor unions, Change to Win, is
collecting information about the effects of the
CVS/Caremark merger on our patients. Change to Win
is seeking the input of independent pharmacists
who are on the front lines dispensing
prescriptions and interacting with payers and
PBMs.
 Change to Win representatives are in
Central Texas this week to work with TPBC members.
We've asked numerous times for your examples of
fallout from the CVS Caremark merger. Change to
Win is working with pharmacy groups all over the
country to collect information to augment their
campaign.
Take a
moment to think about the following
questions:
- Do any of your patients report being
contacted by someone from CVS to switch
pharmacies?
- Do you have any patients who were unable to
fill prescriptions with you because CVS pharmacy
had already filled the prescription, even though
the patient did not give them information or
authorize them to fill it?
- Do you have new patients who used to be CVS
pharmacy patients and experienced problems when
they switched to your pharmacy?
- Any other recent problems with CVS/Caremark
that you, your patients or health plans have
experienced?
I can't imagine any of you have not been
touched by the CVS/Caremark merger. That means ALL of you
have something to report. And it couldn't
be easier to do. Send your story to us ASAP by e-mail or fax (512)
992-1391.
A piece
of the economic stimulus bill affects
pharmacy
Some gaping holes in
medical privacy could be plugged if some
protections included in the federal economic
stimulus law enacted in February are strictly
enforced. They prohibit the sale of personal
health information, with exceptions for research
and public health issues such as tracking
epidemics. An
article in Sunday's New York Times addresses this
in detail.
One of TPBC's success in the
past legislative session was regulation of
pharmacy discount cards. The bill, SB
2423, addresses this issue of data mining. The
federal law reinforces and strengthens our
statewide measure.
Pharmacy exemption for
DME gains momentum
An influential
small business advocacy group and several
respected health care associations joined the
National Community Pharmacists Association to urge
Congress to exempt community pharmacies from the
Oct. 1 accreditation and surety bond requirements
needed to continue providing Durable Medical
Equipment, Prosthetics, Orthotics and Supplies to
Medicare patients
The National Federation
of Independent Business, National Rural Health
Association, American Association of Diabetes
Educators, and the Diabetes Access to Care
Coalition sent letters to the Senate and House
committees of jurisdiction supporting
accreditation exemption bills, specifically, S
511, introduced by Sens. Jon Tester (D-MT) and Sam
Brownback (R-KS), and HR 616, introduced by Reps.
Marion Berry (D-AR) and Jerry Moran (R-KS). The
surety bond exemption bills are S 956, introduced
by Sens. Tester and Pat Roberts (R-KS), and HR
1970, introduced by Reps. Zach Space (D-OH) and Jo
Ann Emerson (R-MO).
In other positive
developments, House Democratic leaders included
similar provisions in their health care reform
bill HR 3200, America's Affordable Health Care
Choice of 2009. And key U.S. lawmakers wrote to
the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
asking that pharmacies be exempted.
U.S.
Sens. Pat Roberts (R-KS) and Sam Brownback (R-KS)
wrote the Obama administration asking for
exemptions from both rules. Similarly, Sens.
Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Blanche Lincoln (D-AR)
wrote CMS seeking a six-month delay in the
accreditation requirement.
In the House,
Small Business Committee Chair Nadia Velazquez
(D-NY) and ranking member Sam Graves (R-MO) sent a
letter to CMS asking for pharmacies to be exempted
from accreditation, while House Ways and Means
Health Subcommittee ranking member Rep. Wally
Herger (R-CA) asked for an exemption from both
rules.
Stay tuned!
Richard E.
Beck, RPh
Executive Director, Texas Pharmacy
Business Council
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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 | | |
