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(Cummings, GA)(May 20, 2009) — Tim Short of Sawnee Drug Co. is urging Congress and the Obama Administration to utilize the assistance of community pharmacies in the development of a health care reform plan enhances patient care. He recently returned from the National Community Pharmacists Association’s (NCPA) 41st Annual Conference on National Legislation and Government Affairs held in Washington D.C. The conference was held May 11-13 and was attended by nearly 400 pharmacists from around the country.

“With health care reform being debated in our nation’s capital, I felt a sense of urgency to make sure Congress understood the concerns of pharmacist small business owners and those of our patients right here in our community,” said Short. “Independent community pharmacies play a critical role in keeping Americans healthy, but often Washington enacts policies that hurt our businesses and threaten patients’ access to our services. I believe NCPA’s Legislative Conference provided me the opportunity to offer common-sense solutions that will strengthen our health care system.”

Conference participants interacted with members of Congress and officials from the Obama Administration about topics crucial to community pharmacies, including reasonable pharmacy reimbursements levels for Medicaid generic prescription drugs, fairness in the contracts between independent community pharmacies and pharmacy benefit managers who administer prescription drug benefits, and the ability to sell medical supplies without extraordinary bureaucratic and financial hurdles. Without Congressional action on these and other issues, community pharmacies will be faced with the decision of whether to lose money or continue some of these services.

Bruce T. Roberts, RPh, NCPA President and Executive Vice President added, “NCPA’s legislative effectiveness depends on the engagement of our members, which is why I am very appreciative of every pharmacy professional who took time out of their busy schedules to make sure their voices were heard in Washington, D.C.”

The conference offered community pharmacists an opportunity to meet face to face with members of Congress. Among the highlights of the meeting were presentations by House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD), House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Henry Waxman (D-CA), House Judiciary Committee Chair John Conyers (D-MI), House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee Chair Frank Pallone (D-NJ), Representative Nathan Deal (R-GA), Senator Johnny Isakson (R-GA), Senator Pat Roberts (R-KS), and Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH). Attendees also heard from senior officials with the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

On Capitol Hill, nearly a dozen members of Congress joined pharmacists in a rally to champion policies benefiting our nation’s community pharmacists.

The conference concluded with a meeting with Jon Leibowitz, head of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), to discuss the anti-competitive business practices and patient privacy violations that have resulted from the 2007 merger of the nation’s largest pharmacy chain (CVS) and 2nd largest Pharmacy Benefit Manager (Caremark) which combined to create a virtual $45 billion monopoly. NCPA is seeking action from the FTC to either reconsider the merger or at least erect safeguards that will prevent the violations and level the playing field for all pharmacies.

The National Community Pharmacists Association, founded in 1898, represents the nation’s community pharmacists, including the owners of more than 23,000 pharmacies. The nation’s independent pharmacies, independent pharmacy franchises, and independent chains dispense nearly half of the nation's retail prescription medicines.