TRICARE Cuts on Compounded Medications Elicit Congressional Concern
Two leading House Republicans expressed concern to TRICARE officials recently regarding patient access to prescribed compounded medications.
PRESS RELEASE
ALEXANDRIA, Va. (June 17, 2015) —
Two leading House Republicans expressed concern to TRICARE officials recently regarding patient access to prescribed compounded medications and the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) expressed support for the lawmakers’ efforts.
House Armed Services Committee Representatives Austin Scott (R-Ga.) and Walter Jones (R-N.C.)
to the Department of Defense (DOD) that “we have heard from both TRICARE beneficiaries and the pharmacy owners who serve their healthcare needs that they can no longer receive their compounded medications.”
“Community pharmacies serve TRICARE beneficiaries across the country and the compounded medications they provide play an important role in patient health by giving prescribers the ability to treat unique medical needs,” they added. Reps. Scott and Jones urged a better balance to rein in any bad actors taking advantage of the system as well as “to investigate the problems we are hearing about related to access to compounded medications to make sure military personnel across the country have the ability to use the pharmacy of their choice for the medications they need.”
“We commend Congressmen Scott and Jones for speaking up on behalf of TRICARE beneficiaries and the community pharmacists who care for them,” said NCPA CEO B. Douglas Hoey, RPh, MBA. “Significant disruption to patient care has resulted from the heavy-handed policy TRICARE has adopted and the disorderly way in which it was implemented. Pharmacists have had to jump through hoops and find workarounds in order to try and ensure these patients can access the medication their doctor has prescribed.”
NCPA recently wrote an opinion column on this issue for the website
available
.
