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.

According to reporting by Reuters, The Food and Drug Administration may decline to review any additional emergency use authorization requests through the remainder of the pandemic if that company has not already been in contact with the FDA.

According to government data, CVS and Walgreens account for the majority of wasted COVID-19 vaccine doses in the U.S. CDC data suggests these companies have squandered more doses than states, U.S. territories and federal agencies combined.

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) announced Monday, an increase of more than 40% for COVID-19 vaccine administration Medicare payment rate for approved providers. This change was made possible through the enactment of the latest COVID-19 relief bill, otherwise known as the American Rescue Plan Act. This major policy change is designed to incentivize pharmacists to participate in the COVID-19 vaccination program.