NCPA Supports Medicare Medication Therapy Management Legislation

PRESS RELEASE

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (Mar. 18, 2015) — National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) CEO B. Douglas Hoey, RPh, MBA issued the following statement in response to the Medication Therapy Management Empowerment Act (S. 776), bipartisan legislation introduced today to expand access for Medicare beneficiaries to medication therapy management (MTM) services:

“As medication experts, community pharmacists are critical to helping patients stick with and get the most out of their prescription drugs. Yet so much more can be done to improve medication adherence and achieve better health outcomes at lower overall costs.

“That is where medication therapy management, or MTM, services can play a vital role and it is why NCPA strongly supports this bipartisan legislation. S. 776 would expand MTM eligibility to Medicare beneficiaries with cardiovascular disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, hyperlipidemia, or diabetes.

“Americans with chronic conditions earned a troubling C+ on the first National Report Card on Medication Adherence. That translates to avoidable medical expenses, including hospitalizations. Research has demonstrated that pharmacist-delivered MTM counseling services can reduce costs and produce healthier outcomes. One Minnesota study found a 12:1 return-on-investment for MTM. In North Carolina, an MTM program also produced significant savings.

“We commend the leadership of Senators Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) on this legislation. We encourage their colleagues to cosponsor this legislation and ultimately enact it into law.”

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The National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA®) represents the interests of America's community pharmacists, including the owners of nearly 23,000 independent community pharmacies. Together they represent an $88.8 billion health care marketplace, dispense nearly 40% of all retail prescriptions, and employ more than 300,000 individuals, including over 62,000 pharmacists. To learn more, go to www.ncpanet.org, visit facebook.com/commpharmacy, or follow NCPA on Twitter @Commpharmacy.