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
-
LTC Pharmacies Double Down On Call For PBM Contract Negotiation Reform
Lauren Brensel // Inside Health Policy – July 23, 2026 A group representing long-term care pharmacies is reminding policymakers of the negative impacts that result from problematic contract negotiations with pharmacy benefit managers, asking CMS to help alleviate pharmacies’ disputes with the three largest PBMs by embracing a series of reforms. LTC pharmacy services like […]
-
PBM contracting challenges continue to threaten stability of long-term care pharmacy services for millions of seniors
WASHINGTON, DC – The Senior Care Pharmacy Coalition (SCPC) is deeply disappointed to hear continued reports of contracting challenges between long-term care (LTC) pharmacies and the nation’s three largest pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) – CVS Caremark, Express Scripts, and Optum Rx. These ongoing disputes threaten the stability of pharmacy services that millions of seniors and individuals with complex medical needs across the […]
-
LTC pharmacies are rising and supporting America’s most vulnerable patients
By Esmé Grewal / President and CEO of the Senior Care Pharmacy Coalition (SCPC) Every day, long-term care pharmacies safely prepare, deliver and manage the medications some of our nation’s most vulnerable patients depend on to live healthy, stable and independent lives. Their work often happens behind the scenes, but for families navigating complex care […]
Stay in the Know
Get the latest news and updates on issues impacting the long-term pharmacy community.