WASHINGTON – More than 240 patient advocates and healthcare entities on Fridayurged Congressional leaders to act now on a key reform to lower patients’ prescription drug prices at the pharmacy counter and to help prevent pharmacy closures that jeopardize access for vulnerable Americans.
“Members of Congress should not overlook the clear and present opportunity to address these needed reforms this year,” the groups wrote to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R, Ky.), Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D, N.Y.), Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D, Calif.), and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R, Calif.).
At issue are the “direct and indirect remuneration (DIR) fees” charged by payers to pharmacies that have – according to Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services data – grown by 45,000 percent since 2010. Resulting from a regulatory loophole, the fees have the net effect of needlessly inflating Medicare patients’ out-of-pocket prescription drug costs and jeopardizing the viability of pharmacies. The United States now has approximately 2,000 fewer pharmacies than two years ago.
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