We Need Your Help !
The message is simple. The future of independent pharmacy rests on whether we choose to be participants or spectators. In the legislative and regulatory arena, participants have a say in their destiny. Spectators watch from the sidelines and read tomorrow’s newspapers to find out what happened. Last Monday, pharmacy leaders from around the state heeded the call and converged on
Austin to inform state legislators of the potentially devastating effects of the move to Medicaid managed care. They provided compelling testimony on how this move will negatively affect their stores, their patients and the communities they serve. In addition, Austin Attorney and Governmental Law expert Jennifer Riggs provided testimony on how HHSC cannot surrender the vital function of rate making to Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) without safeguards. She believes that HHSC is required to ensure a reasonable rate and that Texas pharmacists are entitled to have access to the information that goes into the formation of a reasonable rate.
Ms. Riggs has built a career on asserting her clients' interests before governmental bodies and brings extensive experience to this issue. She was a former assistant Attorney General where she served as both Chief of the Open Government Section and Chief of the Administrative Law Section. She successfully assisted us in 2001 when HHSC was considering reducing the dispensing fee and imposing co-pays on Medicaid recipients.
In the past, many Texas Pharmacists have shown a commitment to the future of pharmacy by supporting the Pharmacy Survival Fund. Presently, it is through this fund that Jennifer Riggs could be retained so that she could conduct the research necessary to provide her valuable testimony. Texas TrueCare is grateful to PBA Health, the Rio Grande Valley Independent Pharmacy Association, Pharmacy Choice and Access Now (PCAN) and the many independent pharmacists around the state who have made contributions to the fund so that Ms. Riggs can continue to advocate on behalf of all of community pharmacy.
Please join this group by making a contribution to the future of independent pharmacy through the Pharmacy Survival Fund. The stakes have never been so high.
Click here to download Donation Form
