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I would like to update you on ASHP’s ongoing efforts to advocate for passage of legislation that would recognize pharmacists as patient care providers in the Medicare program, as well as legislative efforts related to the opioid epidemic.

As the 115th Congress begins to shift focus to the November elections, opportunities for healthcare legislation are limited. We anticipate that any healthcare-related legislation will be mainly focused on the opioid epidemic. As a lead member of the Patient Access to Pharmacists’ Care Coalition, ASHP is working to determine ways in which provider status language might be addressed in the pending opioid bills. However, given that the focus of these bills is mainly on opioids, our efforts for now may need to shift to articulating how pharmacists can play important roles in helping to solve this major public health problem.

Efforts to obtain provider status are part of ASHP’s larger vision that medication use will be optimal, safe, and effective for all people all of the time. Our intent is to enhance our members’ ability to provide care as part of the interprofessional patient care team.

As states look to expand their scope of practice laws to promote the direct patient care roles of pharmacists, ASHP is supporting state-level efforts of our members and working at the federal level to include these direct patient care roles in Medicare. We also want to make sure our members are well-positioned to align their efforts with Medicare modernization, which is now focused on moving toward value-based models that align payment with quality and outcomes. ASHP members are in an excellent position to lead efforts to optimize medication therapy through value-based models, and ASHP will be there to make sure that Congress, Medicare and Medicaid, states, and others understand the many advanced practice models our members are engaged in as well as the direct patient care roles they play. 

As we continue to work with Congress, states, and public and private payers to recognize pharmacists as patient care providers, we will keep you apprised of these activities and our many advocacy efforts on your behalf — addressing persistent drug shortages, rising drug costs, and threats to the 340B Drug Pricing Program, as a few examples.

Thank you for your support and your continued engagement as we work together to help our patients achieve optimal medication therapy outcomes and to advance pharmacy practice.

Sincerely,

Paul