This week's release of the long-awaited Senate Finance Committee health care reform (HCR) proposal sets the stage for an interesting study in lawmaking on Capitol Hill. As the process moves forward, pharmacy and medication therapy management (MTM) are exactly where we hoped at this point: MTM is in both Senate bills and the key House HCR proposal, and the profession is engaged and being heard by legislators.

I do believe that APhA's focus, focus, focus on MTM, as well as advocacy from others, will pay off. This is truly a generational opportunity for pharmacists. The fact that these sound MTM provisions, although not precisely identical, are in the proposals on both sides of the Capitol makes our chances of final passage much more likely.

Our hat is off to many other national and state pharmacy associations that have worked diligently to help secure these provisions. Many pharmacy organizations have promoted MTM along with other concerns, but APhA has been focused on MTM. As members of a stakeholders' coalition, we have supported in letters and deeds an AMP fix and DMEPOS surety bond relief, and I give our partners credit for their successes.

Please stay tuned and informed. If debate takes a negative turn for pharmacists, we will need your aggressive and immediate calls of support. Meanwhile, we can smile, knowing that the Hill is listening to pharmacy.