“Thank you Charlie Sewell for inviting me to speak at your 38th Annual Legislative Conference. It is a pleasure to be here with Bruce Roberts, CEO of the National Community Pharmacists Association.
“You should know that I look to Congressman Marion Barry, a pharmacist himself, for guidance on the critical issues facing you. I am pleased that he will be addressing you tomorrow.
“The 55,000 pharmacists of the National Community Pharmacist Association are relied upon by literally millions of patients every day. Because of your work on the frontlines of health care, pharmacists are the unsung heroes behind Medicare Part D.
“You have been tireless in working for a Medicare prescription drug benefit that serves our seniors and disabled Americans. And when that benefit has failed them, you have been their best resource and advocate.
“When seniors telephoned the call centers run by the Bush Administration to ask which Medicare prescription drug plan would save them the most money, they were given the wrong answer 60 percent of the time. And that is according to a report by the GAO.
“When seniors are given complicated, confusing, or even downright wrong information, they come to you. Pharmacy staff spent an average of six hours every day helping your clients navigate the benefit. Between costs and dispensing emergency prescriptions, independent community pharmacies spent $234 million to help seniors with Part D.
“I know that many of you did nothing but deal with the benefit for weeks, spending hours a day on the phone, and answering questions in the pharmacy. You went above and beyond – often giving people, especially dual-eligibles, their medicine for free so they would not go without.
“Right now, the Republican prescription drug benefit is not working for you, for America’s seniors, or for people with disabilities. To make it work for the many, and not just the few, it needs clarity, and it needs common sense. Democrats are ready to provide both.
“Democrats have long stood united to extend the deadline and end the tax. The benefit is too confusing and complicated, and seniors should not face a lifetime penalty because they cannot understand the benefit within an arbitrary timeframe.
“We also stand for lower drug prices. This Republican law explicitly forbids the government from negotiating lower drug prices. This is what we do for our veterans at the VA, and it works.
“The very first week that Democrats take control of the House, we will pass legislation that gives the Secretary of Health and Human Services the authority to negotiate for lower prices.
“I know you have found Part D reimbursements to be too low and too slow. The average community pharmacy is waiting on $70,000 in reimbursements from each part D plan. Furthermore, you sometimes wait as long as 60 days for reimbursement from the government. Thirty-six percent of independent pharmacy owners are afraid that low and slow reimbursements will put them out of business.
“That’s why you need a prompt pay provision, like that created by the Congressman Barry’s legislation. His FAST Act legislation would require plans pay pharmacists every two weeks, and provide you a minimum guaranteed fee for generic drugs. I will support Congressman Barry’s efforts to pay you what you deserve, and in a timely way.
“I also know you are facing other challenges. As independent pharmacies, you shouldn’t be at a disadvantage against the big companies, like Wal-Mart. Also, what individual plans cover varies tremendously – I support your desire to find a standardized method of dealing with this issue, and the complicated paperwork between the patient, the doctor, and the pharmacy.
“America’s independent pharmacies fill 1.6 billion prescriptions a year. For the millions of Americans who rely on you, Democrats have a prescription for change that will provide you with the resources you need to keep your communities healthy. Democrats stand with you in your efforts and thank you for your excellent work.”
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