E&C Exempts Nursing Homes, Hospice & Others From Pharmacy Lock-In
At the urging of seniors’ advocates and long-term care pharmacies, House Energy & Commerce members tweaked the pharmacy lock-in measure in the latest version of their Cures bill to exempt patients in nursing homes, hospice, intermediate care facilities for the mentally retarded and facilities that contract with a single pharmacy to dispense frequently abused drugs.
The updated lock-in measure, which aims to curb prescription drug abuse, is part of 21st Century Cures legislation that the committee is scheduled to vote on Thursday (May 21).
The draft bill that the committee released just last week exempted hospice from the measure, but it left it to CMS’ discretion to exempt others, such as nursing homes. Long-term care pharmacies were pleased with the measure but continued lobbying for an outright exemption for nursing homes. The pharmacy lock-in measure has changed with each iteration of the Cures bill. The second draft added a beneficiary-appeals measure, but lobbyists for seniors and long-term care pharmacies said that was insufficient.
Seniors’ advocates and long-term care pharmacies support drug-abuse prevention, but they worry the pharmacy lock-in measure in the Cures bill would make it difficult for beneficiaries to obtain vital medicine.
Alan Rosenbloom, president of Senior Care Pharmacy Coalition, which represents independent long-term care pharmacies, said long-term care pharmacies already are subject to regulations stricter than those that would be applied to so-called safe pharmacy networks in the 21st Century Cures bill. — John Wilkerson (jwilkerson@iwpnews.com)
Click here to see the original article on the Inside Health Policy website.
Recent Posts
-
Rep. Beth Van Duyne: Congress can save seniors’ access to medications before it’s too late
Seniors in nursing homes across the country depend on round-the-clock care and medications, perhaps more than any other American patient population. In turn, the nursing homes and assisted living facilities that care for them depend on a small number of specialized long-term care (LTC) pharmacies to ensure their patients have access to the prescription meds they need.
-
Bill Aims to Offset Reimbursement Losses for Long-Term Care Pharmacies Catering to Nursing Homes
Starting in January, falling prices for costly drugs may strain long-term care pharmacies, but proposed legislation backed by advocacy groups aims to subsidize some of this loss. And nursing home advocacy groups are among those urging Congress to pass the Preserving Patient Access to Long-Term Care Pharmacies Act.
-
Drug pricing policy could jeopardize long-term care pharmacies, leaders contend
Senior living and care leaders have joined a coalition calling attention to a policy fix they say would address unintended consequences of Medicare Part D price negotiations that could shutter long-term care pharmacies.
Stay in the Know
Get the latest news and updates on issues impacting the long-term pharmacy community.