Tag: National Community Pharmacists Association

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Pharmacist Michele Belcher was installed as 2021-22 president of the National Community Pharmacists Association at the organization’s 2021 Annual Convention, held Oct. 9-12.  Belcher, of Grants Pass Pharmacy in Grants Pass, Ore., is active in her state pharmacy coalition and state association and has served on task force groups for the board of pharmacy. She has been an adviser for the entrepreneurial academy at OSU College of Pharmacy and is active in state legislation,...

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Ira Katz was named the 2021 Willard B. Simmons Independent Pharmacist of the Year at the National Community Pharmacists Association 2021 Annual Convention, held Oct. 9-12.  The annual award, sponsored by Upsher-Smith Laboratories, is given to a pharmacist who exhibits exemplary professional leadership, service to community and commitment to independent pharmacy.  Katz is the owner of Little Five Points Pharmacy in Atlanta, which he opened 40 years ago. As a...

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – The National Community Pharmacists Association and Pharmacy Times are teaming up to launch the Independent Rx Forum, a new national podcast focused on independent pharmacy issues. Each month, a host from Pharmacy Times will be speaking with NCPA staff, leadership or other independent pharmacy experts about how the industry is changing, what these pharmacies need to do to stay cutting-edge and sustainable into the future, and how the NCPA works to support their success. “Pharmacists...

WASHINGTON – The National Community Pharmacists Association has partnered with five other organizations to form the Coalition for PBM Reform to bring transparency to a part of the health care system that they say is dominated by a few giant corporate middlemen who price medicines, reimburse pharmacies, and determine how much patients will pay at the counter. “Transparency is essential to any healthy market,” said B. Douglas Hoey, NCPA CEO. “There is none in the prescription...

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - The National Community Pharmacists Association has launched a three-day ad blitz aimed at pushing Congress to end the practice of pharmacy benefit managers that pocket savings intended for senior citizens and drive local pharmacies out of business. The ad, titled “You Should Know,” shows how PBMs negotiate discounts on expensive pharmaceuticals and then keep a chunk of the savings instead of passing it on to consumers. The ad also points out how the same PBMs steer patients...

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – The National Community Pharmacists Association says it support President Biden’s “Path out of the Pandemic” plan, which includes authorization for pharmacists to order and administer select COVID-19 therapeutics, including monoclonal antibody therapy, and expands testing to 10,000 additional pharmacies. “As the president made clear, this fight isn’t over,” said B. Douglas Hoey, CEO. “We’re at a critical point and bold action...

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – The National Community Pharmacists Association has developed a new Department of Policy and Pharmacy Affairs, distinguishing the role of regulatory and pharmacy affairs within the association. The department will help bolster NCPA’s strategic affairs, advocacy and media relations efforts. It will conduct research, legislative review and drafting; prepare regulatory comments, issues briefs, testimony and correspondence; promote pharmacy health information technology and...

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – The National Community Pharmacists Association, as part of a congressional hearing on Tuesday, submitted a statement on the record pushing the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Competition Policy, Antitrust and Consumer Rights to scrutinize the role of vertically integrated for-profit companies that have affiliated with pharmacy benefit managers. “The ability of PBMs to game the system not only results in the closure of pharmacies in rural and underserved communities...

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A group of nine pharmacy associations, including the National Community Pharmacists Association, has filed a friend of the court brief in the Eighth Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals defending North Dakota’s right to regulate pharmacy benefit managers. The case, Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA) v. Wehbi, is the first to consider at the federal appellate level the scope of the U.S. Supreme Court’s unanimous decision last year upholding an Arkansas...

WASHINGTON – Noridian Healthcare Solutions has posted FAQs for Jurisdictions A and D on the impact of the Philips recall on coverage and billing for Medicare beneficiaries, AAHomecare has reported.  Among the questions in the FAQ:  How should DME suppliers address the situation with Medicare beneficiaries who are in the first 90-days adherence metric in the PAP and RAD Local Coverage Determinations (LCDs)?  Response: During the Public Health Emergency...