Equitable Community Access to Pharmacist Services (ECAPS) Act

Topic(s):

Legislation & Regulation

Since the COVID-19 public health emergency declaration ended in 2023, millions of Americans have lost or are at risk of losing access to essential care services administered by their local pharmacists, such as testing, vaccination, and common disease treatments.

In fact, community pharmacists are often the most accessible health care professionals for seniors and Americans living in rural areas. Nearly 90% of the U.S. population resides within 5 miles of a community pharmacy.

The Ensuring Community Access to Pharmacist Services (ECAPS) Act of 2025 (H.R. 3164) is an important bipartisan bill that will extend certain COVID-era provisions that have been a critical lifeline for millions of patients, if signed into law. It helps ensure patients across the country maintain reliable access to testing and treatment for COVID-19, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), the flu, and potential future threats to public health.

It would also establish coverage and reimbursement under Medicare Part B to enable and empower pharmacists to perform vital services in their communities for beneficiaries of these programs.

Patients increasingly rely on pharmacists as their first point of care. This is especially true in rural areas, where 77 percent of community pharmacies serve populations of 50,000 or fewer, making pharmacists an essential care provider to medically underserved communities.
Pharmacy administered vaccines can proactively prevent diseases like measles that would otherwise be expensive to treat after the fact.
Managed care pharmacies and community pharmacies can collaborate to improve patient care and outcomes by leveraging each other's strengths in areas like vaccine education, adherence, and access to care.

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Take Action

Urge Congress to pass the Ensuring Community Access to Pharmacist Services (ECAPS) Act of 2025 (H.R. 3164) to permanently allow COVID-era expansion of pharmacy patient care services, like vaccine administration, across the country.

Advocacy Issue January 19, 2025

PBM Reform

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Legislation & Regulation

Advocacy Issue January 19, 2025

Prescription Digital Therapeutics (Access to PDTs Act)

Prescription digital therapeutics (PDTs) are software-based therapies shown to benefit those with mental health conditions like depression. However, many PDTs do not currently fit into one of the statutorily defined coverage categories for the Medicare or Medicaid programs, leaving beneficiaries of those programs—which include some of America’s most vulnerable populations—without access to these effective and accessible treatments. AMCP supports the Access to Prescription Digital Therapeutics Act, an important bipartisan bill that would help remedy this disparity by creating a comprehensive benefit category and expanding Medicare coverage to include PDTs.

Prescription Digital Therapeutics, Legislation & Regulation

Advocacy Issue January 19, 2025

Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) Implementation

Signed into law in 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) ushered in Medicare prescription drug pricing reforms and imposed caps on out-of-pocket expenses for Part D beneficiaries. While much discussion and analysis has focused on how the IRA will impact Medicare beneficiaries, Part D plans, and government spending, the impact of the legislation will extend to stakeholders across the U.S. health care industry.

Legislation & Regulation