WASHINGTON - Sens. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., and Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., recently introduced legislation to help preserve senior citizens' access to the prescription drugs and important healthcare services provided by community pharmacies.
The bill, Ensuring Seniors Access to Local Pharmacies Act, S. 1190, is co-sponsored by Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., and Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio.
"Community pharmacies play a critical role in providing healthcare and medication to rural Americans who live in far reaching parts of our state and may otherwise have a lengthy drive to a larger city," Capito said. "The Ensuring Seniors Access to Local Pharmacies Act will allow seniors to maintain access to Part D prescription medications and qualify for the potential cost savings from preferred pharmacies."
The Ensuring Seniors Access to Local Pharmacies Act of 2015 would require that community pharmacies in medically underserved areas (MUAs), medically underserved populations (MUPs) and health professional shortage areas (HPSAs) be allowed to participate in Medicare Part D preferred pharmacy networks if they are willing to accept the contract terms and conditions of existing preferred providers. The bill will give seniors more choice, allow community pharmacies to compete and preserve access to medical services in underserved areas.
"The Ensuring Seniors Access to Local Pharmacies Act is an important step in allowing seniors to go to their preferred pharmacies without paying higher out of pocket costs for the medications that they need every day," Manchin said. "It will also help protect the small, independent pharmacies that serve such an important role in rural communities. I am proud to cosponsor this bipartisan legislation with Senator Capito, and I plan to continue working with her and my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to continue finding commonsense fixes to our healthcare system."
Under existing law, Medicare Part D plans permit any willing pharmacy to participate in the plan's network and many have created separate preferred pharmacy networks. Currently, more than 86 percent of Part D plans now include preferred pharmacy networks, up from 15 percent just five years ago. A senior must either travel to a pharmacy that is in the preferred network, which in rural areas can require significant travel, or pay higher co-payments or co-insurance to continue using their local pharmacy.
This bill is a companion to H.R. 793, The Ensuring Seniors Access to Local Pharmacies Act, which currently has 38 bipartisan co-sponsors in the House of Representatives.