AMCP Hosts Annual Legislative Days on Capitol Hill

Alexandria, Va., Sept. 17, 2020 — During AMCP Legislative Day 2020, 40 AMCP members met with lawmakers in targeted congressional offices on AMCP’s key issues to explain the value of managed care pharmacy in the broader health care system. Discussions centered on pharmaceutical information exchange (PIE) legislation, prior authorization, and advocating to authorize pharmacists to receive reimbursement under Medicare Part B for COVID-19 and flu testing and vaccinations.  

“AMCP and our members are committed to ensuring patients across the country can access the lifesaving medicine they need, at costs they can afford,” said AMCP CEO Susan A. Cantrell, RPh, CAE. “As our health care system shifts from a fee-for-service payment system to a value-based system rewarding quality, improved patient outcomes, and cost efficiency, it’s imperative that the U.S. Congress and statehouses around the country act on the need for better care. We were thrilled to meet with members of Congress to educate them on the best ways to make sure patients get the best care.” 

More than 8,000 AMCP members leverage their expertise in clinical evidence and economics to optimize the benefit of medicines, population health management, and patient access to cost-effective, safe medications. This week, with more than 80 virtual meetings taking place with elected officials in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, AMCP member representatives conferred on three main tenets:  

• Congress needs to act now to protect Medicare beneficiaries and reduce the strain on our health care system by including language authorizing pharmacists to receive reimbursement under Medicare Part B for COVID-19 and flu testing and vaccinations in the next round of COVID-19 relief legislation. 

• Congress must pass a legislative safe harbor that allows pharmaceutical manufacturers to proactively share clinical and economic information on medications in the FDA pipeline with population health decision-makers, with the ultimate goal of getting patients the medications they need at costs they can afford. 

• Congress should continue supporting health plan flexibility in the use of prior authorization and other managed care tools. Doing so has the potential to reduce medication costs, errors, and patient harm, while increasing quality of care. 

The AMCP Legislative Days program also recognized Congressman Brett Guthrie of Kentucky's Second Congressional District, for introducing the Pharmaceutical Information Exchange (PIE) Act of 2017, legislation codifying current regulatory safe harbors that allow for PIE between manufacturers and population health decision-makers. Guthrie serves on the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the House Committee on Education and Labor, and was also appointed to serve as a Deputy Whip within the House Republican Conference for the 116th Congress. 

About AMCP 

AMCP is the professional association leading the way to help patients get the medications they need at a cost they can afford. AMCP’s diverse membership of pharmacists, physicians, nurses, biopharmaceutical professionals, and other stakeholders leverage their specialized expertise in clinical evidence and economics to optimize medication benefit design and population health management and help patients access cost-effective and safe medications and other drug therapies. AMCP members improve the lives of nearly 300 million Americans served by private and public health plans, pharmacy benefit management firms, and emerging care models. Visit www.amcp.org.