The U.S. House and Senate are considering a bill that would force many
U.S. military families to fill most of their prescriptions through
mail order drug warehouses instead of at their local community
pharmacy. The TRICARE provisions of the Defense Authorization Act are
headed for a House-Senate conference after different versions of the
bill passed in each chamber. TRICARE is the name of the Department of
Defense (DOD) managed health care program for active duty military,
active duty service families, and military retirees and their
families, and covers more than 9.2 million persons worldwide.
"Mandatory mail order will force our active duty military personnel,
retired military, and their families away from their trusted community
pharmacy, effectively denying them the important face-to-face patient
care that community pharmacists provide," said Bruce Roberts, RPh,
executive vice president and CEO of the National Community Pharmacists
Association (NCPA). "Especially at a time when so many of our military
personnel are deployed abroad, they and their families at home deserve
the best care possible. Patients overwhelmingly prefer to receive
their prescription medications from their local pharmacy and not be
forced to hope and wait for them to appear in their mailbox."
The Senate version of the bill would require all TRICARE beneficiaries
to obtain refills of "maintenance medications" through the mail. The
Congressional Budget Office estimates that 65 percent of prescriptions
could be classified as maintenance medications. Other estimates put
the figure as high as 80 percent. NCPA is calling for the
congressional conferees to strike that section of the bill.
The House version of the bill also penalizes patients who prefer to
fill their prescriptions locally, by increasing the copay for both
generic and brand drugs at a community pharmacy while eliminating the
copay entirely for prescriptions purchased by mail.
Also, DOD currently negotiates with drug manufacturers for significant
discounts. However, brand manufacturers only offer DOD discounted
prices for prescription medications dispensed at military treatment
facilities and through the TRICARE mail order program. NCPA strongly
supports language in the Senate bill that would extend these discounts
to retail pharmacy.
DOD would save approximately $773 million a year by expanding that
discount pricing to community pharmacy. That is $150 million a year
more than the estimated savings of forcing beneficiaries into mail
order.
"We urge Congress to carefully consider the impact of these provisions
and to come down firmly on the side of active duty military, military
retirees, their families, and true, cost- saving choice in the
community," Roberts said.
The National Community Pharmacists Association, founded in 1898,
represents the nation's community pharmacists, including the owners of
more than 24,000 pharmacies. The nation's independent pharmacies,
independent pharmacy franchises, and independent chains dispense
nearly half of the nation's retail prescription medicines.
Labels: No Prescription, Online Pharmacy, Prescription Drugs
# posted by Network @ 8:35 AM
