February 9, 2006

America ’s Pharmacists Deserving
of Nation’s Gratitude

COLUMBUS, OH – Congresswoman Deborah Pryce (R-Upper Arlington) today submitted the following editorial:

Since sign-up for the voluntary Medicare prescription drug benefit began on November 15th, 2005, approximately 24 million of 43 million seniors eligible for Medicare have enrolled in a prescription drug coverage plan through Part D. At present, nearly 90,000 beneficiaries are enrolling in the program each day, and one million prescriptions are being filled in pharmacies around the nation.

However, as it has been widely reported, numerous glitches in the program have soured the public’s initial perception of the program. Impossibly long holding times on Medicare’s 800 phone number and inexcusable data software problems led to a shaky start for the drug benefit. Most concerning, though, were the myriad problems facing the people who under the new law were transitioned from Medicaid to Medicare – whose information was delayed in being entered into the enrollment system, and who were thus unable to have their prescriptions filled, charged erroneous co-pays, or charged full price for their much-needed prescriptions.

The Part D benefit was passed and signed into law in 2003. With more than two years to implement the benefit, Medicare could have and should have anticipated the tremendous interest in the program and prepared accordingly. However, I am pleased to report that many of the initial problems have been corrected. The wait times on 1-800-MEDICARE have been reduced, and Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt has traveled the country, working with States, beneficiaries, Members of Congress, and health care providers to remedy any remaining problems with the benefit rollout. While laudable, these recent efforts are a requisite for a public agency – we should expect it to deliver upon its promised mission with minimal inconvenience to the public.

But during this tumultuous infancy of the program, one group heroically filled the void left by programmatic glitches, and helped ensure that those who needed their vital medications would not be turned away – our nation’s pharmacists.

As Medicare and the plan providers worked to improve their administrative infrastructure over the past month and a half, pharmacists all around the country worked feverishly to bridge this gap in pharmaceutical coverage. Many pharmacists have given out tens of thousands of dollars in medication, rather than turn their valued customers away. As the bills for those drugs came in from their wholesalers, pharmacies have had to pay them out of pocket while waiting for the plans to reimburse them. In some instances, pharmacists have taken out enormous loans to help pay the drug wholesalers who wanted their bills paid immediately, not when the Medicare payments arrived.

Independent pharmacies, which lack the buying power and economies of scale advantages of the larger, chain pharmacies, and are less able to absorb unforeseen costs, were particularly hard hit during this transition. Nonetheless, they ensured a continuum of care for their customers by covering the prescription expenses of their customers, often risking the financial health of their family businesses.

Thankfully, pharmacists will no longer be required to shoulder this costly responsibility. Recently, many states like Ohio stepped forward and pledged to reimburse pharmacists for their expenses; the federal government has since overridden the need for Ohio’s action by accepting the responsibility for these costs through the end of the month. Thus, I am hopeful that all pharmacists will ultimately be made whole again, and that none will have suffered any irreparable harm. Regardless, I wish to thank America’s pharmacists -- the unsung heroes of Medicare Part D – for their benevolent commitment to our nation’s wellness.