As many of you know by now, pharmacy united to form the Patient Access to Pharmacists Care Coalition (PAPCC) and to pursue provider status for pharmacists through the recognition of pharmacists’ services in federal legislation. Today, we made a major leap forward with the introduction today of a bill in the House to amend Title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for coverage of pharmacists’ patient care services (H.R. 4190).

We thank Reps. Brett Guthrie (R-KY), G.K. Butterfield (D-NC), and Todd Young (R-IN) for introducing legislation that will enable patient access to, and payment for, Medicare Part B services by state-licensed pharmacists in medically underserved communities. A title will likely get added to the bill later in the process.

I often get questions from pharmacists who aren’t quite sure why we should make such an effort to seek recognition of pharmacists and their services in the Social Security Act. From a tactical perspective, there are battles to be fought to get into restricted networks, to sustain your business (when razor thin margins get cut further with arbitrary MAC cuts), to maintain access to pharmaceuticals that your patients need when your supply chain or federal agencies make it challenging. And each of these is a critical battle that often determines whether the pharmacy doors open tomorrow or not.

Meanwhile, on a strategic level, we have a medication use crisis in this country and you, as pharmacists, are poised and trained to help! Our health care system spends billions of dollars fixing problems from suboptimal drug therapy. Nearly all of pharmacy has united as the PAPCC to gain the recognition that gets us on the team and in the game! This is a long term, strategic effort that must be pursued vigorously if patients are to use their medicines successfully, AND if our profession is to be relevant in an evolving health care system.

We must deploy our highly trained pharmacists to help improve medication use, and the pathway is through coverage and payment of pharmacists’ patient care services in the Social Security Act. Simply, Americans, especially the medically underserved, need access and coverage for their pharmacists’ quality patient care services. APhA applauds all the pharmacy organizations, stakeholders, and our congressional champions who are uniting and focused on passage of federal legislation that gives our public that access. If we are successful, everyone wins, including patients, team-based health care, and payers. The evidence shows that when pharmacists are included in medication management, costs go down and quality improves.

A united profession has asked Congress to put us in the game, and we are ready to serve. In the coming weeks, stay tuned on specific ways we need your engagement. We need your membership in pharmacy organizations, and we need your political activism. Your profession REALLY NEEDS YOU!