Op-ed: Trump should right Biden’s wrongs on Medicare reimbursement
By Kelley Koch | Published November 15, 2025 in The Gazette
As a former health care administrator, I’m deeply concerned about an impending consequence brought on by Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act that threatens seniors in nursing homes and assisted living facilities.
Long-term care pharmacies — the pharmacies that serve senior care facilities — provide specialized care that cannot be replicated: consultant pharmacist services, specialized patient-specific medication packaging, and 24/7 medication delivery. These aren’t extras, they’re federally mandated services that nursing homes and assisted living facilities must provide to residents.
Beginning in January, Medicare reimbursement changes will drastically cut payments to these specialized pharmacies, putting nearly 60% of them at risk of closure. Without these pharmacies, nursing homes may be unable to meet federal requirements and could be forced to close themselves, particularly in rural areas where a single pharmacy closure could impact multiple facilities serving our most vulnerable seniors.
I hope President Trump will right this wrong brought on by the Biden administration by taking executive action to provide relief to these pharmacies and I hope our congressional delegation will support recently introduced bipartisan legislation which would protect seniors’ access to these critical services.
Time is running out — Washington must act to protect our seniors.
Read the full article on The Gazette here
Recent Posts
-
Senior Care Pharmacy Coalition Launches Powerful New Ad Campaign Urging Congress to Avert a Long-Term Care Crisis and Save Senior Access to Meds
Washington, D.C. (December 8, 2025)— The Senior Care Pharmacy Coalition (SCPC) today launched a powerful new broadcast and digital ad campaign urging Congress to pass the Preserving Patient Access to Long-Term Care Pharmacies Act (H.R. 5031/S. 3159) to avert a looming long-term care (LTC) crisis that threatens millions of seniors’ access to essential medications. “We’re facing a serious […]
-
Senior Care Pharmacy Coalition Releases Statement in Support of the PBM Price Transparency and Accountability Act
SCPC commends Senators Mike Crapo (R-ID) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) for championing federal PBM reform through bipartisan legislation that targets the predatory practices of pharmacy benefit managers. These abuses continue to harm patients across the nation, particularly America’s seniors and the LTC pharmacies dedicated to serving them.
-
Op-ed: Trump Administration must act to preserve senior care
During my years representing the rural communities of southcentral
Pennsylvania, I learned that when a system works smoothly and
efficiently, people take it for granted.
Stay in the Know
Get the latest news and updates on issues impacting the long-term pharmacy community.