The three largest drug distributors in the U.S. have agreed to pay up to $1.18 billion to settle claims by the state of New York according the the state's attorney general. The deal was reached with McKesson Corp, Cardinal Health and AmerisourceBergen Corp.

This spring, bipartisan federal provider status legislation was introduced in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. H.R. 2759 and S. 1362 would recognize pharmacists as health care providers for Medicare patients. The legislation would do this by amending section 1861 (s) (2) of the Social Security Act to include pharmacists on the list of recognized healthcare providers.

The Pharmacy DIR Reform to Reduce Senior Drug Costs Act has been introduced in both the U.S. House and Senate. H.R. 3554 (Rep. Peter Welch D-Vt) and S. 1909 (Sen. Tester D-MT), aim to reform the Medicare Part D retroactive direct and indirect remuneration (DIR) fees system. This legislation provides a Congressional statutory fix to the current retroactive nature of Part D DIR fees. It will require plans that cover Medicare Part D drugs to report any pharmacy price concessions or incentives to pharmacies at the claim level – at least on an annual basis. This would increase transparency in the fee structure used by PBMs and establish standardized pharmacy performance metrics.

The Michigan state house recently passed Michigan House Bill 4348, 97-10. This bill is now scheduled for a hearing in the Senate Health Policy and Human Services Committee this Thursday, June 17. We need your help. Please contact the members of the Senate Committee on Health Policy and Human Services and urge them to support this legislation.

Earlier this month, Colorado legislators passed House Bill 21-1275. This modified the state Medicaid program to include payments to pharmacists for clinical services under the medical benefit. This requires Colorado Medicaid plans to cover medically necessary services provided by a pharmacist under certain circumstances in compliance with state scope of practice laws.

A recent opinion piece published in the Waukesha Freeman and written by pharmacist and former co-owner of Tobin Drug, Dave Schultz, did an excellent job of highlighting the issues pharmacists continue to face as the COVID-19 pandemic appears to be nearing its end.