HR 9096 PHARMACISTS FIGHT BACK ACT.

NATIONWIDE, Local community Pharmacist are sending out a SOS. They are the backbone of many rural and small towns. I'm don't want to be cattle to Walmart.

CONTACT YOUR FEDERAL REPRESENTIVE TO SPONSOR OR CO-SPONSOR THIS LEGISLATION. LINK TO BILL IS AT THE BOTTOM.

HR 9096 Pharmacists Fight Back Act

TO PRESERVE YOUR LOCAL PHARMACIES.

STOP THEM FROM FORCING US TO USE PLACES LIKE WALMART.

RELEASE: AUCHINCLOSS INTRODUCES BIPARTISAN PHARMACISTS FIGHT BACK ACT TO CRACK DOWN ON PREDATORY DRUG PRICING.

WASHINGTON, D.C. –Today, U.S. Representatives Jake Auchincloss (D, MA-04) and Diana Harshbarger (R, TN-01) introduced the Pharmacists Fight Back Act to tackle the manipulative practices of Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) – the middlemen of drug pricing. PBMs are directly responsible for driving up drug costs, gouging community pharmacists, and limiting patient choice in federal healthcare plans. This bipartisan legislation is currently the most comprehensive PBM reform ever introduced at the federal level. 

Patients, community pharmacies, and taxpayers have been forced to shoulder the burden of rising drug prices at the hands of PBMs. The lack of PBM accountability has inflated drug costs for seniors at the pharmacy counter, by mandating patients receive expensive brand name drugs when cheaper, generic drugs were prescribed and readily available.  

The Pharmacists Fight Back Act reins in large PBMs responsible for hundreds of millions of dollars in overcharges via spread pricing in Medicaid-managed care plans. The bill implements a transparent pharmacy reimbursement model using market-based pricing benchmarked to the national average drug acquisition cost (NADAC). It also removes the ability of PBMs to restrict patient choice via network exclusions, and protects community pharmacists by prohibiting PBMs from steering patients to PBM-affiliated pharmacies. 

"The corporate greed of PBMs and their health-insurance overlords has taken money directly out of the pockets of seniors, taxpayers, and pharmacists by inflating the price of medications for their own benefit. This bill protects community pharmacists and patients from price-gouging in  federal healthcare programs,” said Rep. Auchincloss. 

“As a pharmacist, I know first-hand how pharmacy benefit managers maneuver in the shadows to put the financial screws to independent community pharmacies, and often raise drug costs for patients by steering prescription drug coverage to whatever best pads their bottom line,” said Rep. Harshbarger. “A recent Federal Trade Commission interim report confirms the many ways PBM middlemen self-deal, distort competition and essentially print their own money. I’m proud to help introduce the Pharmacists Fight Back Act, which will put in place much-needed reforms to stop the gouging of independent pharmacies, make life-saving drugs more affordable for patients, and implement solutions that will yield savings to taxpayers.”

“APCI could not be more grateful to Representatives Auchincloss and Harshbarger for their leadership in taking on the unfair practices of big PBMs. The need for comprehensive PBM reform has never been clearer following landmark reporting by the Wall Street Journal and New York Times as well as a scathing FTC report exposing PBM practices that drive up costs and harm pharmacies, patients, and payers,” said Tim Hamrick, CEO, American Pharmacy Cooperative, Inc. “This legislation offers a blueprint for bringing PBM abuses to a screeching halt in federal healthcare plans.  This is the bill that pharmacists and patients have been hoping to see.”  

“The Pharmacists Fight Back Act is the first and only bill to directly address PBM practices that have left hundreds of communities without pharmacies; diminished or even eliminated access to care for thousands of patients; and artificially inflated health plan premiums and drug costs at the pharmacy counter.  This legislation is vital to ensuring patients can maintain access to the pharmacy of their choice, but also - critically - ensuring pharmacies remain viable and open for patient care,” said Monique Whitney, Executive Director, Pharmacists United for Truth and Transparency. “We are grateful to Representatives Auchincloss and Harshbarger for championing legislation that deals directly with the issues that have plagued pharmacies for years, and provides fair, workable solutions.” 

“Representative Auchincloss’ and Representative Harshbarger’s bipartisan Pharmacists Fight Back Act is an aggressive effort to put an end to unfair practices of large spread-based PBMs, which raise drug costs for patients and taxpayers in federal healthcare programs. Across pharmacy counters, kitchen tables, board rooms, and community centers, I have witnessed first-hand too many seniors, working families, and Medicare patients suffering under the profiteering and medication rationing festering under big PBMs’ insurance gimmicks and gamesmanship,” said Greg Baker, Pharmacist, CEO of AffirmedRx, a transparent PBM and a founding member of Transparency-Rx, a diverse coalition dedicated to lower drug pricing. “This bill addresses that crisis head on, laying the groundwork for a more transparent approach so drug prices can’t be exploited for profit—curtailing many of the conflicts of interest that pad big PBMs’ profits.  If passed, the law would help re-imagine a better, more open American healthcare system, advancing our nation and Medicare program for the 21stCentury.”

“On behalf of the Kentucky Pharmacists Association, we express our strong support for the Pharmacists Fight Back Act introduced by Congressman Auchincloss and Congresswoman Harshbarger. Having witnessed the positive impact of similar PBM reform legislation within Kentucky's Medicaid program and commercial market, we understand the critical importance of extending these reforms to the Federal Medicare program,” said Ben Mudd, Executive Director, Kentucky Pharmacists Association. “This federal legislation is essential to ensure fair and transparent reimbursement practices for all pharmacies nationwide. This bill will protect patient choice and enhance pharmacy access, benefiting patients and the healthcare system as a whole. We commend the efforts of our Congressional leaders and urge swift passage of this vital reform.”  

“Unite for Safe Medications wholeheartedly supports the Pharmacists Fight Back Act and is grateful to Representatives Harshbarger and Auchincloss for taking on the unfair practices of PBMs.  This legislation is crucial for protecting taxpayers and patients from price gouging and other PBM abuses,” said Loretta Boesing, Executive Director, Unite for Safe Medications. “Moreover, PBMs' exclusion of thousands of community pharmacies from networks like Tricare forces patients to use PBM-owned mail-order pharmacies, reduces patient choice, increases risks associated with obtaining medications, and jeopardizes the survival of local pharmacies that are essential to America’s healthcare system."

 “For too long, Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) have exploited a lack of transparency and accountability to burden patients with higher out-of-pocket costs for life-saving medicines. These intermediaries, who do not contribute to patient well-being, have evaded federal regulation for an extended period,” said Dr. Robert Popovian, Pharm.D., MS, Chief Science Policy Officer, Global Healthy Living Foundation. “The Global Healthy Living Foundation commends bipartisan legislative efforts aimed at ensuring patients can access innovative medicines at reasonable costs without obstacles.” 

Read the full text of the bill here: READ THE BILL.

Why are Small Pharmacies Being Forced to Close? Josh Hardin 10-10-24

A $10.64 FEE FOR FILLING YOUR SCRIPT!

Alabama bill adding $10.64 prescription fee exists so pharmacists are ‘making more money,’ critics say. According to the Alabama Daily News, the bill requires pharmacy benefit managers -- who manage drug benefits for insurers -- to reimburse in-network pharmacies for the cost of acquiring medication. That comes along with a dispensing fee, set by the federal government and used in programs like Medicaid.

Meet mine: LEROY BOATWRIGHT WAS THE BACKBONE OF MILLINGTON, TN. His son Steven follows in his Dad’s foot steps. Conservative, Christian Pharmacist dedicated to their community. The same people worked for him till they retired, then their children began the new generation. Services are very personal, advice is free.

Pharmacy Alum’s Hometown Honors 60 Years of Service

By Sydney Slotkin DuPriest

Leroy Boatwright with his children at the renaming ceremony. From left: Laura Smith (BSPH 80), Leroy Boatwright (BSPH 49), Emily Provence (BSPH 83) and Steven Boatwright (BSPH 88).

For the few people in Millington, Tennessee, who don’t know where Boatwright Pharmacy is, Leroy Boatwright (BSPH 49) can now give them directions using his own name.

A graduate of the Ole Miss School of Pharmacy, Leroy Boatwright, now 91, opened his pharmacy in 1957. Last month, the city honored his service by renaming the street where the pharmacy has stood for 60 years to “Leroy Boatwright Street.”

Friends of Boatwright’s from the Millington Senior Citizen Group secretly organized the campaign to rename the street. Meanwhile, his son Steven Boatwright (BSPH 88), his father’s successor at Boatwright Pharmacy, made sure his family would be in town for the renaming ceremony in mid-August. As part of the ceremony, the mayor of Millington, Terry Jones, and members of the Board of Aldermen, spoke about Boatwright’s impact on the community. They presented Boatwright with gifts, a key to the city and a proclamation declaring the street name changed.

“It was very special,” said Laura Smith (BSPH 80), Boatwright’s daughter. “My dad was overwhelmed and humbled by it all. He’s served several generations in his store, and the people of the community mean so much to him.”

All of Boatwright’s three children are pharmacists and graduates of the Ole Miss School of Pharmacy, including Emily Provence (BSPH 83). Provence and her husband Bradley (BSCHE 82) are both involved in Boatwright Pharmacy. Smith and her husband Brent (BSPH 75) co-own Chaney’s Pharmacy in Oxford.

“We grew up in his store, and I always knew that it was for me,” Laura Smith said. “He was the greatest influence on all his children in choosing this profession.”

Even though Boatwright is retired, he keeps his pharmacist’s license up-to-date and still comes into the store from time to time and speak with customers and help patients.

Leroy Boatwright said he was very surprised by the honor and grateful to his family, friends and the city.

“I really appreciate everything everyone did,” Boatwright said. “It’s been a good trip.”

Leroy Alexander Boatwright.
Millington - Leroy Alexander Boatwright, 93, of Millington, TN passed away at his home on September 12, 2019. Dr. Boatwright was born in 1925 in Holly Springs, MS. He served as a medic in the Navy during the World War II and after the war he attended the University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy and graduated in 1949. He married Peggy A. Rodgers in 1954 and together they founded Boatwright Drug Co in 1957 in Millington and were faithful members of First Baptist Church. Because of his unlimited kindness, compassion, and unselfish service to others, Dr. Boatwright will be remembered as one of the most beloved citizens of Millington and the surrounding communities. He was honored by the City of Millington in 2017 when "C" Street was officially renamed "Leroy Boatwright Street".