Excerpt from NACDS Rx IMPACT Action Alert, May 23, 2019
Although our community tirelessly - and passionately - communicated the dire need for direct and indirect remuneration (DIR) fee reform, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced it is not implementing DIR fee reform for 2020. If there was ever a time to engage in an NACDS RxIMPACT campaign - this is that moment.
Members of Congress are so disappointed in the Administration's decision regarding plan year 2020 that they are banding together to address the critical need for these reforms. For example, members of Congress are actively working to promote a legislative solution called the Phair Pricing Act (H.R.1034/S.640) by Senators John Kennedy (R-LA), Jon Tester (D-MT), and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) in the Senate, and by Representatives Doug Collins (R-GA) and Vicente Gonzalez (D-TX) in the House. The bill would require that all pharmacy price concessions be included at the point of sale for Medicare Part D and Medicare Advantage. Put simply, this legislation would deliver relief to patients and pharmacies from DIR fees. Our community knows all too well pharmacy DIR fees are exploited by Part D plans and their pharmacy benefit managers as a way to claw back reimbursement from pharmacies for the prescription medications already filled for Medicare beneficiaries. This bill stops that practice.
TAKE ACTION and send letters to your representative and two senators today to show your support for DIR reform.