As I write, I’m in awe of the sun as it rises over the U.S. Capitol building. APhA headquarters is a great location to watch both sunrises and sunsets, and today’s sunrise is particularly gorgeous with gentle wind-swept cloud wisps combing the sky over the Washington Monument. I’m reminded that today is a new day with a new start, and an opportunity to do good in the world. It’s a chance to work hard to make a difference in people’s lives and to tell the story of our profession to folks who have the power to make change happen.
I’m proud to join our friends from the National Association of Chain Drugstores as a guest for their dinner tonight to kick off their national fly-in event to lobby Congress. This massive gathering of hundreds of pharmacists, pharmacy executives, and corporate leaders into DC couldn’t be happening at a more critical time. As Congress is negotiating the final components of legislation to keep our government fully funded through September, it seems that some members of the Senate have gotten cold feet on bills that have broad, bi-partisan support to reform the way PBMs do business with the Medicare program. Some estimate that the savings which would result from these reforms are sufficient to pay for numerous new programs for our nation’s seniors and those who have a disability—programs ensuring access to pharmacist-provided care services for testing and treatment of several respiratory illnesses, and for vaccines provided by pharmacists, as well as dental care, eye care, and a host of other Medicare program reforms that are desperately needed as our nation ages.
Congress needs to act. Time is drawing near, and with the general elections just around the corner, it’s not hard to imagine that our already dysfunctional Congress will likely get very little meaningful business done during the lame duck session between November elections and the inauguration in January. That’s why we need your help. Would you pause for just a moment as you are reading this note and visit APhA’s Action Center? I just did this myself. It takes less than 6 seconds to click the top link on PBM reform and send a letter to your members of Congress. Another 60 seconds and you can also send letters to your members of Congress to support passage of patient access to pharmacist services (i.e., provider status) legislation. Even if you’ve done this before, would you please do it again, right now?
We must fight for our profession! Let’s take our rest this evening knowing that, from the rising of the sun to its setting, we did everything we could to move pharmacy forward.
For every pharmacist. For all of pharmacy.
Michael