PolitiTalkRx

ASHP on CMS Pass Through Funding | PolitalkRx

Tom Kraus VP, Government Relations at ASHP 
CMS pass through funding
What is pass through funding for residency programs and why is it so important?
On March 29th the US District Court of South Carolina granted MUSC Health’s motion for summary judgment again HHS for their disallowance of PGY1 residency costs. Can you provide some details/background on this case? What was the guidance that CMS was failing to provide?
Can speak about ASHP’s work with CMS to make the guidance more apparent to other programs moving forward?
What will be the downstream effect of this case on residency programs in the future?
Can you break down the practice for our listeners?
What are the concerns with white bagging?
What are the steps being taken at the state and federal level to take action to the concerns related to white bagging?
Co-signing letter to the FDA
Leveraging PELA and SPPL; can you explain?
Partnership with AHA
Provider status
Can you talk about the work ASHP has done to ensure that pharmacists can provide Medication-assisted treatment (MAT)?
At the end of April the US House and Senate introduced the Pharmacy and Medically Underserved Areas Enhancement Act. A similar bill has been submitted for the past couple of years. Can you walk us through the history of this bill? What it would allow pharmacists to do? Why it is so important for the Country? Statistics?
This bill continues to have bipartisan support. What do we need to do as pharmacists to finally get this passed?
COVID-19 and its effect on provider status and Advocacy
Since the start of COVID-19 we’ve seen congress put forth bills and amendments that outline the healthcare response to the pandemic. One such amendment to the PREP Act outlined that “any physician, advanced practice registered nurse, registered nurse, or practical nurse” who had a license within the last 5 years could participate in the vaccination effort, even if the license was inactive. Pharmacists were left out of this amendment originally. I believe that has since been updated, but what is it that we need to be doing as individuals within the profession to help government officials to understand the worth of pharmacists and consider them as a primary focus in any further legislation?
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The Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Pharmacy | Locked On Pharmacy

On Dec. 10, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 8-0 that an Arkansas law regulating how PBMs and pharmacies interact could be enforced, and was not preempted by federal law.
With more than three dozen other states debating or passing such legislation, the ruling could have nationwide impact. The CEOs of national pharmacy organization were unanimous in hailing the decision.
In this episode, three guests discuss the case: Rep. Buddy Carter (R-Georgia); John Vinson, CEO of the Arkansas Pharmacists Association; and Scott Knoer, Executive Vice President and CEO of the American Pharmacists Association.
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Georgia State Representative David Knight & GPhA Greg Reybold | PBM Reform Podcast Series

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) has signed three innovative PBM reform bills into law. HB 946 and SB 313 require the reporting of drugs paid 10 percent above and 10 percent below National Average Drug Acquisition Cost every four months, prohibit PBMs from tying a pharmacy’s drug reimbursement to a patient’s health outcomes, and require PBMs to offer drug coverage plans that do not include spread pricing and plans that allow plan sponsors to receive 100 percent of rebates negotiated by PBMs. 
HB 918 strengthens existing anti-steering provisions and the Pharmacy Audit Bill of Rights. Congratulations to the Georgia Pharmacy Association and all pharmacy advocates for these wins which will protect pharmacies, patients, and payers. 
Guests: Georgia State Representative David Knight
Greg Reybold Vice President of Public Policy and Association Counsel
Hosted by Lauren (Colee) Young 
Sponsored by The Georgia Pharmacy Association & Pharmacists United for Truth and Transparency (PUTT) 
 
http://www.gpha.org/membership/ 
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Insights from the Virginia Pharmacists Association | PUTTcast Episode 05

PUTTcast Episode 5 - Chatting with VPhA
Guests: Christina Barrelle, Executive Director of VPhA, Howard Estes, Attorney & VPhA Lobbyist, Co-Hosts PUTT Executive Director Monique Whitney & PUTT Board President Scott Newman
PUTT chats with the Virginia Pharmacists Association about building relationships with state legislators, their recent win in PBM reform, and how they managed to catch the PBM lobby off guard to get things done.
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Diana Harshbarger for Tennessee | Income Outcomes Show

As a practicing Pharmacist, Diana Harshbarger could go on for days about the horrible effects Obamacare has had on the healthcare industry, as well as everyday Americans. Health insurance companies and government bureaucrats are out of control. Authority of healthcare choices should be given back to patients and healthcare providers. 
While there is much work to be done to eliminate the overreaching arm of the federal government when it comes to healthcare, the first steps Diana will take in Congress will be to lower prescription drug prices, increase generic drug pricing transparency as well as increase competition among health insurance plans. These reforms will make it easier for Americans, especially our seniors, to afford their medications.
This episode is sponsored by the University of California Irvine, UCI, Master of Science in Pharmacology, learn more: https://sites.uci.edu/mspharmacology/ 
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Congressional Pharmacy NCPA FLY-IN 2020 - PPN Episode 947

NCPA Team Members Anne CassityVP Government Affairs & Karry La Violette Senior Vice President, Government Affairs & Director of Advocacy Center
Join us on: 
Tuesday and Wednesday, April 21/22, 2020 at the Hilton, Old Town Alexandria.  
FLY In. FLY Out. Easy. 
That’s NCPA’s 2020 Congressional Pharmacy Fly-In – a small investment of your time that can make a whopping difference in how federal law and policy affect your pharmacy practice.
https://pharmacyflyin.ncpanet.org/
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IN DATA WE TRUST: | PBM Reform Podcast Series

IN DATA WE TRUST
Special Guest: ANTONIO CIACCIA with 3 Axis Advisors. 
Born and raised in pharmacy, Antonio has been crawling around pharmacies his entire life.  After three years as a pharmacy technician and two years of pre-pharmacy curriculum, Antonio diverted course, graduating from The Ohio State University in 2007 with dual degrees in communications and political science before moving into the world of association management.
Thinking that pharmacy would be in his rear-view mirror forever, he ended up making his way back to his pharmacy home, heading up government affairs for the Ohio Pharmacists Association, a trade organization with a strong track record of advocating for drug pricing transparency. After years of studying the pharmacy marketplace, Antonio became increasingly perplexed and concerned as he saw drug costs spiking while payouts to pharmacies were declining. Knowing something was being lost somewhere in the middle of an ever-growing transaction, Antonio has spent years working to crack the drug pricing code and pull the rug out from what he believes is one of the most dysfunctional marketplaces in the world.
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Exposing the Truth about PBMs - Introducing the PUTTcast - PPN Episode 933

Pharmacists United for Truth and Transparency (PUTT) is a non-profit advocacy organization founded by independent pharmacists and pharmacy owners devoted to exposing the truth about the anti-competitive tactics of pharmacy benefits managers (PBMs). Known to most Americans as their "prescription drug benefit plan" provider, PBMs are in reality a $300 billion industry - giant corporate middlemen driving up the cost of medications with huge mark ups and commissions on every prescription covered under their "benefits plan." 
​
Working with local and national traditional and digital media that includes The New York Times, USA Today, CBS News, Bloomberg, NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt and Business Insider, PUTT seeks to educate patients, lawmakers, health plan sponsors and the public about the deeply negative effects of the PBM industry on U.S. healthcare and the escalating price of prescription medications.
PUTT serves as an industry watchdog, collecting evidence of PBM fraudulent practices and abuse and using this information to educate and inform consumers, taxpayers, employers and health plan sponsors of the truth about the unregulated, unmonitored PBM industry. Through PUTT's efforts, PBMs have begun to experience greater public awareness and scrutiny of their actions and come under fire for questionable practices including the use of gag clauses at the pharmacy counter, gross over-billing of health plans (called "spread pricing"), forcing patients to use PBM-owned pharmacies instead of allowing patients to choose their own pharmacies and interjecting unnecessary bureaucratic practices such as prior authorizations between patients and their doctors in the matter of prescription refills.
PUTT members and friends are pharmacists, doctors, patients, consumers, lawmakers, taxpayers and community members. If you've got a story to tell about how PBMs have hurt your pharmacy, your patients, your family or your community, we urge you to join PUTT and help us stop PBM abuse today!
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Pharmacists for Truth Transparency - PBM Reform Series Part Two - PPN Episode 906

Part Two of the PBM Reform Podcast Series features an interview with Monique Whitney, the Excutive Director of Pharmacists United for Truth and Transparency (PUTT). 
Pharmacists United for Truth and Transparency (PUTT) is a non-profit advocacy organization founded by independent pharmacists and pharmacy owners devoted to exposing the truth about the anti-competitive tactics of pharmacy benefits managers (PBMs). Known to most Americans as their "prescription drug benefit plan" provider, PBMs are in reality a $300 billion industry - giant corporate middlemen driving up the cost of medications with huge mark ups and commissions on every prescription covered under their "benefits plan." 
​
Working with local and national traditional and digital media that includes The New York Times, USA Today, CBS News, Bloomberg, NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt and Business Insider, PUTT seeks to educate patients, lawmakers, health plan sponsors and the public about the deeply negative effects of the PBM industry on U.S. healthcare and the escalating price of prescription medications.
PUTT serves as an industry watchdog, collecting evidence of PBM fraudulent practices and abuse and using this information to educate and inform consumers, taxpayers, employers and health plan sponsors of the truth about the unregulated, unmonitored PBM industry. Through PUTT's efforts, PBMs have begun to experience greater public awareness and scrutiny of their actions and come under fire for questionable practices including the use of gag clauses at the pharmacy counter, gross over-billing of health plans (called "spread pricing"), forcing patients to use PBM-owned pharmacies instead of allowing patients to choose their own pharmacies and interjecting unnecessary bureaucratic practices such as prior authorizations between patients and their doctors in the matter of prescription refills.
Monique Whitney
Pharmacists United for Truth and Transparency
Monique@TruthRx.org
m. (505) 480-4150
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PBM Reform Series Part One: NCPA INSIGHTS - PPN Episode 902

Anne CassityVice President, Federal and State Government Affairs at National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) joins Todd Eury, CEO of the Pharmacy Podcast Network, on part one of the new series: 
PBM Reform Podcast Series 
Pharmacy benefit managers were created as middlemen to reduce administrative costs for insurers, validate a patient’s eligibility, administer plan benefits, and negotiate costs between pharmacies and health plans. Over time, PBMs have been allowed to operate virtually unchecked. A lack of transparency in PBM practices has led several states to implement licensure/registration, fair pharmacy audit, or generic drug pricing legislation to try to level the playing field for pharmacies and patients. 
NCPA: https://www.ncpanet.org/advocacy/state-advocacy/pbm-reform 
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