Reproductive Health Care
APhA recognizes the incredibly impactful and far-reaching consequences of the Supreme Court’s
decision in
Dobbs v Jackson, which overturned Roe v Wade. This decision has implications on the complete
span of
reproductive health services, as it leaves abortion regulation to individual states and creates
a new
landscape for health care providers to navigate. In the wake of this decision, APhA continues to
call for
clarity for patients and pharmacists and affirms the vital role of the pharmacist's professional
judgment in
ensuring safe and effective use of medications.
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COVID-19 Advocacy
APhA's COVID-19 advocacy efforts focus on maintaining the flexibilities and authorities extended to
pharmacists by the federal government, while continuing to advocate for changes that will allow
pharmacists
to utilize their full expertise to care for patients. The federal government is looking at ways
to improve
access to care by being more flexible about certain requirements and expanding scope of practice
through new
authorities during the COVID-19 public health emergency. Our current areas of focus include
immunizations,
testing, payment, compounding, telehealth, and future pandemic planning.
COVID-19 Advocacy Opportunities
COVID-19 Test to Treat Access
APhA’s analysis of COVID-19 Test to Treat locations, as of May 6, 2022, demonstrates that underserved
and
vulnerable communities do not have equitable access to care in the current program.
As hospitalization rates and deaths from COVID-19 persist, the need to quickly connect high-risk
patients who
test positive for COVID-19 to lifesaving treatments remains essential.
Pharmacists
can help.
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Provider Status
Pharmacists and pharmacists’ patient care services are not included in key sections of the Social
Security
Act (SSA), which determines eligibility for health care programs such as Medicare Part B. In the
case of
Medicare Part B, the omission of pharmacists as listed providers limits Medicare beneficiaries’
access to
pharmacists’ services in the outpatient setting. Pharmacists have demonstrated their value while
playing a
crucial role in COVID-19 pandemic response by being available and accessible as front-line
health care
professionals. APhA encourages Congress to pass legislation that recognizes pharmacists as
providers in
Medicare Part B and as integral members of the health care team to provide patients with access
to and
coverage for our quality patient care services.
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Pharmacist and pharmacy payment reform
The pharmacy reimbursement and drug pricing scheme in the U.S. has grown out of control, with
misaligned
incentives that neither benefit the patient nor lead to better health outcomes. These
misalignments are
causing pharmacies across the country to shut their doors, leaving patients without access to
their local
pharmacies. APhA supports transparency and accountability in reimbursement and pricing and is
thus
concentrating policy efforts to 1) support pharmacists’ ability to focus on patient care and to
be
appropriately paid for these services and 2) reform pharmacy payment and PBMs’ actions and
activities that
are disrupting the pharmacy ecosystem. Recent advocacy and legal
action led to CMS issuing a final rule that
eliminates harmful retroactive direct and indirect remuneration (DIR) fees.
Learn more about CMS’s rule that ends
retroactive DIR
fees