NCPA Supports House Bill Expanding Access to Pharmacist-Delivered Health Care Services

PRESS RELEASE

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (Jan. 24, 2017) The National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) has endorsed H.R.592, the Pharmacy and Medically Underserved Areas Enhancement Act, which was introduced by U.S. Reps. Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.), G.K. Butterfield (D-N.C), Tom Reed (R-N.Y.), Ron Kind (D-Wis.) and 104 of their colleagues.

The legislation recognizes pharmacists as health care providers and enables pharmacists in medically underserved areas to offer and be compensated for an expanded scope of patient-care services under the Medicare Part B program. It is a companion bill to S. 109, which was introduced by a group of 27 cosponsors in the U.S. Senate earlier this month.

"Pharmacists are highly-accessible, clinically-trained medication experts who can improve health outcomes and reduce overall costs," said NCPA CEO B. Douglas Hoey, RPh, MBA. "Thanks to Representatives Guthrie, Butterfield, Reed and Kind, we have legislation in the House that would empower pharmacists to provide even greater care to Medicare beneficiaries."

Hoey added, "The bill follows on the heels of the Senate's introduction of an identical bill. We hope the common-sense, bicameral, bipartisan legislation, which also generated a lot of support in the previous Congress, can pass both chambers and make it to President Trump's desk for his signature."

NCPA advocacy efforts will be greatly complemented by the Patient Access to Pharmacists' Care Coalition (PAPCC)—a group of stakeholders, including NCPA, committed to ensuring the full capabilities of pharmacists are fully utilized to benefit patients.