September 21, 2022 | Category: Uncategorized
H.R. 7213 Would Ensure Patient Access to Testing, Treatment & Vaccine Services by Pharmacists, Often the Most Accessible Points of Healthcare in Communities Across the Country
WASHINGTON, D.C., September 21, 2022 – The Future of Pharmacy Care Coalition announced today that more than 200 organizations, including physician and provider groups, patient advocacy organizations, health equity groups, rural health groups, pharmacists, health systems, and many others across communities, support H.R. 7213, bipartisan federal legislation that would ensure patient access to essential pandemic and pandemic-related health services provided by pharmacists. Those groups are urging Members of Congress to support and advance H.R. 7213 to ensure Medicare beneficiaries can access pharmacist services for COVID-19, flu, strep throat, and RSV.
“We urge Congress to act quickly to advance H.R. 7213, to ensure that access to pharmacy care is made permanent for our communities,” wrote more than 80 organizations representing patients, physicians, providers, and other communities in a letter to the Senate Committee on Finance, House Committee on Energy and Commerce Committee, and House Committee on Ways and Means. “By acting on the Equitable Community Access to Pharmacist Services Act, Congress can ensure pharmacist services are covered, alleviating gaps in care, preserving vital health care access in the future, and advancing health equity,” they added.
Earlier this year, Representatives Ron Kind (D-WI), David McKinley (R-WV), Nanette Barragán (D-CA), and Buddy Carter (R-GA) introduced H.R. 7213, the Equitable Community Access to Pharmacist Services Act, legislation that would ensure Medicare Part B beneficiaries can benefit from pharmacists’ services related to COVID-19 and related diseases, including testing, immunization, and treatment initiation. The legislation establishes a reimbursement pathway for those services and ensures that seniors have access to these pharmacy and pharmacist-provided services during future public health emergencies. To date, more than 45 members of the U.S. House of Representatives have signed on to cosponsor the legislation.
H.R. 7213 would ensure access, especially for marginalized rural and urban populations, to important pharmacist services related to the COVID-19 pandemic and other illnesses, including:
- Testing: COVID-19, Influenza, Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), and Strep Throat
- Treatment: COVID-19, Influenza, and Strep Throat
- Vaccinations: COVID-19 and Influenza
“H.R. 7213 would permanently ensure that when the public health emergency ends or we find ourselves at the brink of another national health crisis, patients will not lose access to these critical pharmacist-provided health care services they have come to rely upon,” wrote 91 organizations representing America’s pharmacists and pharmacies in a letter to champion House sponsors of H.R. 7213. “Your legislation will ensure the continued ability of pharmacies and pharmacists to be a reliable lifeline to America’s communities,” they added.
According to a Future of Pharmacy Care Coalition national survey, 82% of older Americans, including 91% of Hispanic respondents, agree that the government should reimburse pharmacists for providing testing, vaccination, and treatment for COVID-19 and other infectious diseases. The same national survey found that more than 54% of older Americans strongly agree that Congress should cover pharmacist services for testing, vaccination, and treatment for infectious diseases such as flu, strep throat, COVID-19, and RSV.
“Congress should move quickly to pass H.R. 7213 to ensure pharmacists are reimbursed for critical care and services under Medicare Part B,” wrote 31 health systems in a letter to champion House sponsors of H.R. 7213. “In doing so, Congress will ensure Medicare beneficiaries can…receive treatment from pharmacists for pandemic-related health conditions and allow pharmacists to respond to ongoing and future public health threats to our nation,” they added.
Click here to see the complete list of groups supporting this legislation.
Click here to see the full text of H.R. 7213, the Equitable Community Access to Pharmacist Services Act.
Patient, provider and other organizations supporting H.R. 7213 include: 60 Plus, 100 Black Men of America, Inc., AgriSafe Network, Aimed Alliance, The AIDS Institute, AIDS United, Alliance for Aging Research, Allergy & Asthma Network, American Diabetes Association (ADA), American Liver Foundation (ALF), American Red Cross, American Society on Aging (ASA), Arthritis Foundation, Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum (APIAHF), Autoimmune Association, Balm in Gilead, Black AIDS Institute, California Hepatitis C Task Force, Cancer Support Community, CancerCare, Caregiver Action Network, Caring Ambassadors, Chronic Care Policy Alliance (CCPA), Color of Crohn’s & Chronic Illness (COCCI), Community Liver Alliance (CLA), Diabetes Leadership Council (DLC), Diabetes Patient Advocacy Coalition (DPAC), Easterseals Serving Greater Cincinnati, Exon 20 Group, EveryLife Foundation for Rare Diseases, Faith for Black Lives, Familia Unida Living with MS, FORCE: Facing Our Risk of Cancer Empowered, Foundation for Sarcoidosis Research, Friends of Cancer Research, Global Healthy Living Foundation (GHLF), Global Liver Institute, GO2 Foundation for Lung Cancer, Healthcare Distribution Alliance (HDA), Healthcare Leadership Council (HLC), HealthyWomen, Hemophilia Federation of America (HFA), Infusion Access Foundation (IAF), ICAN, International Cancer Advocacy Network, International Foundation for AiArthritis, League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), Liver Coalition, Looms for Lupus, LUNGevity Foundation, Lupus and Allied Diseases Association, Inc., Lupus Foundation of America, The Mended Hearts, Inc., Men’s Health Network (MHN), National Alliance for Caregiving (NAC), National Black Nurses Association (NBNA), National Caucus and Center on Black Aging (NCBA), National Coalition of 100 Black Women (NCBW), National Center for Frontier Communities, National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care, National Consumers League (NCL), National Center for Farmworker Health (NCFH), National Health Council, National Hemophilia Foundation (NHF), National Kidney Foundation (NKF), National Minority Quality Forum (NMQF), National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health (NOSORH), National Psoriasis Foundation (NPF), National Viral Hepatitis Roundtable (NVHR), The National Grange, National Hispanic Medical Association (NHMA), National Rural Health Association (NRHA), Neuropathy Action Foundation (NAF), Patients Rising Now, Pulmonary Hypertension Association (PHA), RetireSafe, Spondylitis Association of America (SAA), Susan G. Komen, UnidosUS (formerly known as National Council of La Raza), VillageMD, The Wall Las Memorias (TWLM), West Health Institute, and ZERO – The End of Prostate Cancer.
Pharmacy organizations supporting H.R. 7213 include: Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP), Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP), American College of Apothecaries (ACA), American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP), American Pharmacists Association (APhA), American Society of Consultant Pharmacists (ASCP), American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP), College of Psychiatric and Neurologic Pharmacists (CPNP), Hematology/Oncology Pharmacists Association (HOPA), National Alliance of State Pharmacy Associations (NASPA), National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP), National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS), National Association of Specialty Pharmacy (NASP), National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA), National Pharmaceutical Association (NPhA), Society of Infectious Diseases Pharmacists (SIDP), Alabama Pharmacy Association (APA), Alabama Society of Heath-system Pharmacists, Inc (ASHP), Alaska Pharmacists Association (AKPhA), Arizona Pharmacy Association (AzPA), Arkansas Association of Health System Pharmacists (APA), Arkansas Pharmacists Association (APA), California Pharmacists Association (CPhA), California Society of Health System Pharmacists (CSHP), Colorado Pharmacists Society (CPS), Connecticut Society of Health System Pharmacists (CSHP), Delaware Pharmacists Society (DPS), Delaware Society of Health-System Pharmacists (DSHP), Florida Pharmacy Association (FPA), Florida Society of Health-System Pharmacists (FSHP), Georgia Society of Health-System Pharmacists (GSHP), Hawaii Pharmacists Association (HPhA), Idaho Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ISHP), Illinois Council of Health-System Pharmacists (ICHP), Illinois Pharmacists Association (IPhA), Indiana Pharmacist Association (IPA), Iowa Pharmacy Association (IPA), Kansas Pharmacists Association (KPhA), Kansas Council of Health-System Pharmacy (KCHP), Kentucky Pharmacists Association (KPhA), Kentucky Society of Health-System Pharmacists (KSHA), Louisiana Society of Health-System Pharmacists (LSHP), Maine Pharmacy Association (MPA), Maine Society of Health System Pharmacists (MSHP), Maryland Pharmacists Association (MPhA), Maryland Society of Health System Pharmacy (MSHP), Massachusetts Society of Health System Pharmacists (MSHP), Michigan Pharmacists Association (MPA), Minnesota Pharmacists Association (MPhA), Minnesota Society of Health-System Pharmacists (MSHP), Mississippi Society of Health System Pharmacists (MSHP), Missouri Society of Health-System Pharmacists (MSHP), Montana Pharmacy Association (MPA), Nebraska Pharmacists Association (NPA), Nevada Pharmacy Alliance (NPA), New Jersey Pharmacists Association (NJPhA), New Jersey Society of Health-System Pharmacists (NJSHP), New Mexico Pharmacists Association (NMPhA), New Mexico Society of Health-System Pharmacists (NMSHP), New York State Council of Health-system Pharmacists (NYSCHP), North Carolina Association of Pharmacists (NCAP), North Dakota Pharmacists Association (NDPhA), North Dakota Society of Health- System Pharmacists (NDSHP), Ohio Pharmacists Association (OPA), Ohio Society of Health-System Pharmacy (OSHP), Oklahoma Society of Health System Pharmacists (OSHP), Oregon Society of Health-System Pharmacists (OSHP), Oregon State Pharmacy Association (OSPA), Pharmacists Society of the State of New York (PSSNY), Pennsylvania Pharmacists Association (PPA), Pennsylvania Society of Health-System Pharmacists (PSHP), Colegio De Farmaceuticos De Puerto Rico (CFPR), Pharmacy Society of Wisconsin (PSW), Rhode Island Pharmacists Association (RIPA), Rhode Island Society of Health Systems Pharmacists (RISHP), South Carolina Society of Health Systems Pharmacists (SCSHP), South Dakota Pharmacists Association (SDPhA), South Dakota Society of Health-System Pharmacists (SDSHP), Tennessee Pharmacists Association (TPA), Texas Pharmacy Association (TPA), Texas Society of Health System Pharmacists (TSHP), Utah Society of Health System Pharmacists (USHP), Virginia Pharmacists Association (VPhA), Virginia Society of Health-System Pharmacists (VSHP), Washington Metropolitan Society of Health-System Pharmacist (WMSHP), Washington State Pharmacy Association (WSPA), West Virginia Pharmacists Association (WVPA), West Virginia Society of Health System Pharmacists (WVSHP), Pharmacy Society of Wisconsin (PSW), and Wyoming Pharmacy Association (WPhA).
Health systems supporting H.R. 7213 include: ASHP (American Society of Health-System Pharmacists), Allina Health (Minnesota), Avera Health (South Dakota), Baptist Health (Arkansas), Baptist Health South Florida (Florida), Beth Israel Lahey Health (Massachusetts), Bon Secours Mercy Health, Citizens Memorial Hospital (Missouri), CommonSpirit (Illinois), Cone Health (North Carolina), Eskenazi Health (Indiana), Harris Health System (Texas), Howard University College of Pharmacy (DC), Inova Health System (Virginia), Lee Health (Florida), LifePoint Health (Tennessee), Mass General Brigham (Massachusetts), Mayo Clinic (Minnesota), Methodist Health System (Texas), MultiCare Health System (Washington), OhioHealth (Ohio), OSF Healthcare (Illinois), Rochester Regional Health (New York), Saint Luke’s Health System (Missouri/Kansas), Sanford Health (South Dakota), Trinity Health (Michigan), UChicago Medicine (Illinois), University of Kansas Health System (Kansas), University of Michigan Health (Michigan), University of Tennessee Medical Center (Tennessee), and Upson Regional Medical Center (Georgia).
About the Future of Pharmacy Care Coalition
The Future of Pharmacy Care Coalition comprises American healthcare companies and professional associations that together provide care for hundreds of millions of patients across communities and represent pharmacists and community pharmacies of all sizes across the U.S. Coalition membership includes Abbott, the American Pharmacists Association (APhA), American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP), AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health, CVS Health, Good Neighbor Pharmacy, Health Mart, Kroger Health, McKesson, the National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS), and Walgreens. Learn more at PharmacyCare.org.