WASHINGTON, DC – The American Pharmacists Association (APhA) celebrates today’s reintroduction of the Pharmacy and Medically Underserved Areas Enhancement Act in the Senate. The legislation, which was previously introduced in the 114^th session of Congress, will improve patient access to health care through pharmacists and their patient care services.

Sponsors of the proposed bill S.109 include Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Bob Casey (D-PA), Susan Collins (R-ME) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH). The cosponsors are all leaders on the committees of jurisdiction that oversee that bill and will play an integral role in passage of the legislation.

“The American Pharmacists Association is pleased to see the re-introduction of legislation in the Senate that will increase patient access to health care by taking advantage of pharmacists—an important but often underutilized member of the patient’s health care team,” said Thomas E. Menighan, APhA Executive Vice President and CEO. “APhA looks forward to the reintroduction of companion legislation in the House in the coming weeks.”

While most Members of Congress, who supported the Pharmacy and Medically Underserved Areas Enhancement Act have returned in the 115^th Congress, there are 63 new members in the House and Senate who need to be educated about the many services pharmacists provide within their scope of practice beyond the safe distribution of medication.

APhA is a member of the Patient Access to Pharmacists Care Coalition (PAPCC) – a multi-stakeholder and interdisciplinary initiative that is comprised of organizations representing patients, pharmacists, and pharmacies, as well as other interested stakeholders. The coalition’s primary goal is to improve patient access to pharmacists’ services in medically underserved communities consistent with state scope of practice laws.

APhA and the PAPCC led a campaign in support of identical legislation introduced in the last session of Congress, which resulted in 296 cosponsors of H.R. 592 and 51 cosponsors of the Senate’s companion bill, S.314.

About the American Pharmacists Association
The American Pharmacists Association, founded in 1852 as the American Pharmaceutical Association, is a 501 (c)(6) organization, representing more than 63,000 practicing pharmacists, pharmaceutical scientists, student pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and others interested in advancing the profession. APhA, dedicated to helping all pharmacists improve medication use and advance patient care, is the first-established and largest association of pharmacists in the United States. For more information, please visit www.pharmacist.com.