WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) today reintroduced legislation to help seniors access prescription drugs and health care services provided by community pharmacies. Co-sponsored by Senators Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), the Ensuring Seniors Access to Local Pharmacies Act (S. 1044) will provide individuals on Medicare Part D more flexibility to choose pharmacies in their communities without paying additional costs.
“In states like West Virginia, community pharmacies are vital resources that many families and individuals in rural areas rely on for their health care needs,” Senator Capito said. “The Ensuring Seniors Access to Local Pharmacies Act will enable seniors to use trusted pharmacies close to home while also qualifying for the cost savings of Medicare’s preferred pharmacies.”
“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,” Senator Manchin said. “It will also help protect the small, independent pharmacies that serve such an important role in rural communities in West Virginia. I am proud to cosponsor this bipartisan legislation and I plan to keep working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to continue finding commonsense fixes to our healthcare system.”
“Seniors in Arkansas have come to rely on their community pharmacists after getting to know them for many years,” Senator Cotton said. “We should give these seniors the same choices they’ve always had under Medicare.”
“The price of prescription drugs already leaves many seniors in a bind each month, and it’s worse for folks in rural Ohio who have to decide between paying even more at an out-of-network pharmacy or having to travel to an in-network pharmacy,” Senator Brown said. “Seniors should be able to fill their prescriptions where they live, and this fix is one small way to keep down costs for seniors.”
Under current law, Medicare Part D plans permit any state board-certified pharmacy to participate in the plan’s network, and the overwhelming majority of Part D plans have created separate preferred pharmacy networks. However, many community pharmacies are not included in preferred pharmacy networks within the Medicare Part D program. As a result, many seniors must either travel to a pharmacy that is in the preferred network or pay higher co-payments or co-insurance to continue using their local pharmacy.
The Ensuring Seniors Access to Local Pharmacies Act of 2017 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:
Click here for a one-page summary of the bill.
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