The AMCP Foundation has posthumously awarded the 2023 Steven G. Avey Award to Judith A. Cahill, former CEO of AMCP, for her sustained and exemplary service to the practice of pharmacy. Cahill's legacy includes creating the Pharmacy Quality Alliance, the AMCP Format for Formulary Submissions, and championing the passing of the Medicare Modernization Act and the Affordable Care Act. The award was accepted by AMCP past president Marissa Schlaifer, AMCP Foundation president Annesha White, and Cahill's niece Kathy Kurek at AMCP 2023.
The AMCP Foundation and its partners have announced the winners of the 23rd Annual National Student Pharmacist Pharmacy & Therapeutics Competition, where teams from across the country developed a drug monograph and recommendations for formulary placement. The University of Connecticut School of Pharmacy took first place, followed by the University of Washington School of Pharmacy and the University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy.
Congratulations to Bilqees Fatima, Adaeze Amaefule, and Yuqi Lan, the recipients of AMCP Foundation’s Best Poster Awards at AMCP 2023. This semiannual competition, proudly presented by AMCP Foundation with support from CVS Health, culminates twice a year at AMCP national meetings.
On March 31, AMCP submitted comments following a Feb. 2 proposed rule by the Internal Revenue Service, Employee Benefits Security Administration, and CMS regarding coverage of certain preventive services under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). In the comment letter, AMCP expresses support for the Departments' goals to increase access to preventive services.
On March 31, AMCP joined 10 other pharmacy organizations in a joint letter to Anne Milgram, Director of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA). The joint letter requests that the DEA extend flexibilities for telehealth prescribing of buprenorphine using the opioids-related public health emergency.
AMCP welcomes the introduction of the Equitable Community Access to Pharmacist Services Act of 2023. This legislation would help improve health equity and combat public health threats.
Sanchita Galgalikar, MBA, BS, will serve as the 2023–2024 Executive Fellow in Health Care Association Leadership. This year-long training program provides a rich, in-depth learning experience for pharmacists interested in health care association leadership or managed care pharmacy.
On March 10, AMCP submitted comments to CMS regarding a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on Advancing Interoperability and Improving Prior Authorization Processes for Medicare Advantage Organizations, Medicaid Managed Care Plans, State Medicaid Agencies, Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Agencies and CHIP Managed Care Entities, Issuers of Qualified Health Plans on the Federally-Facilitated Exchanges, Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) Eligible Clinicians, and Eligible Hospitals and Critical Access Hospitals. AMCP's comments address whether CMS should consider policies to require payers to include information about prior authorizations for drugs on the Patient Access API, the Provider Access API, and the Payer-to-Payer API and how information on the APIs might interact with existing prior authorization requirements.
AMCP applauds the introduction of the Access to Prescription Digital Therapeutics Act of 2023 into the Senate and House by a bipartisan group of Senators and Representatives. The bill would authorize coverage of prescription digital therapeutics by Medicare and Medicaid, helping millions of Americans receive innovative care to treat a growing range of conditions and illnesses.