Local pharmacies have always been an integral part of our health care system.  Pharmacists provide critical advice about how to properly take prescription medication, potential side effects of medicine, and drug interactions.  Congress must be careful not to intrude on this longstanding and important relationship.

Many insurance companies encourage people to order their prescription medication through the mail as a way to cut costs.  Unfortunately, Congress cannot always micromanage how insurance companies conduct their business.  But Congress does have control over how those on Medicare access pharmacies. 

Recently, Congress passed and the President signed H.R. 1, the Medicare Prescription Drug and Modernization Act of 2003, to provide a prescription drug benefit for those on Medicare.  While I did not vote for this bill, the new law does include safeguards to guarantee that seniors can fill their prescriptions at a community pharmacy.  Mail-order only prescription plans are prohibited.  The law also includes provision to guarantee that seniors have convenient access to a pharmacy.  As with many bills, there are some very good features in this legislation, and of course, many that are problematic.