FEDERAL ACTION IS NEEDED TO ENSURE PATIENT ACCESS TO PHARMACIST SERVICES

The Issue

As the most accessible health care provider, pharmacists play a front-line role in managing chronic disease and protecting seniors and other Medicare beneficiaries from common infectious diseases. Patients visit pharmacies nearly twice as frequently as they visit primary care physicians. Pharmacists continuously mobilize to reach and care for vulnerable senior communities, rural Americans, and those in medically underserved areas.

The Problem

Senior and rural access to essential pharmacist care and services is at risk if Congress doesn’t act swiftly. While Americans with private insurance, Medicaid beneficiaries, the uninsured, and federal employees may be covered, Congress must act to ensure access to essential pharmacist services in Medicare. Without a federal reimbursement mechanism for pharmacist services, Medicare beneficiaries will not have access to essential care and services provided by pharmacists.

The Solution

Congress must pass H.R. 3164 / S. 2426, known as the Main Street Pharmacy Access Act in the House and the Ensuring Community Access to Pharmacist Services Act in the Senate. The legislation would allow pharmacists to receive payment from Medicare Part B to provide testing and treatment to seniors for common respiratory illnesses — such as flu, strep, and RSV — only in states that already authorize pharmacists to provide such services. In eligible states, this means seniors can receive the care they need close to home and turn to their neighborhood pharmacist as a first point of care.