There is not a more exciting time to be involved in politics than right now! One of the hottest topics being debated and analyzed by our society is healthcare and how we can improve the quality, accessibility and cost effectiveness of the system. Currently Senator Jack Hatch of the Iowa State Senate is working to solve some of the issues facing our healthcare by restructuring some aspects of our healthcare system here in Iowa. At the Iowa Pharmacy Association’s Legislative Day students and pharmacists from around the state had the opportunity to listen to and discuss with State Senators and Representatives. Being healthcare providers and working to shift our own profession’s image from that of the dispensing pharmacist to one more focusing on our therapeutic drug knowledge and patient care skills, the current changing tides of healthcare are extremely important to the profession. Through working to reform healthcare it gives pharmacists the opportunity to voice our understanding of the healthcare system and what pharmacy’s role should be in a collaborative healthcare team.
Drew Roberts, a P2 at Drake University, and I are working on a very exciting and progressive bill that was drafted by Senator Hatch that will reform healthcare in Iowa. There is a large section of the bill that deals with pharmacy; in particular how pharmacists can contribute to the healthcare system to control the dollars being spent on healthcare by managing patient’s disease states through screenings and medication reviews. The bill also has a section dealing with bringing greater transparency to the reimbursement process between pharmaceutical companies and pharmacies.
I encourage you to take a look at the bill; it will have a very profound impact on pharmacy in Iowa if passed. I will keep you updated on the status of the bill in future blog posts- stay tuned!
The bill is entitled SF48 (SF stands for Senate File). Section VII is the section relating to pharmacy. Please feel free to post opinions/comments here on the blog!
http://coolice.legis.state.ia.us/Cool-ICE/default.asp?Category=billinfo&Service=Billbook&menu=false&hbill=SF48
By Steph Swain, APhA-ASP President 2008-2009
Monday, February 23, 2009
Friday, February 20, 2009
Legislative Day
This year’s legislative day was well attended by Drake including Professors and Students. The Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal gave the Keynote address talking about important bills being discussed in the Iowa legislature. In particular SF48 proposed by Senator Jack Hatch was the topic of discussion. The 2009 Health Care Reform Bill includes provisions that would let cities, small businesses, and nonprofit corporations, among others buy into the state employee health insurance. This would not only provide more Iowans with good insurance opportunities, it would also decrease the cost of insuring state employees by expanding the insurance pool.
The part of the bill that is of most interest to pharmacy is section VII providing an easier way for pharmacist to bill for Medication Therapy Management (MTM) services. It would also force Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBM) to be more transparent about their business practices. This might help explain why in some cases only the brand name drug is covered and not the cheaper generics. The bill also provides pharmacist the opportunity to do Academic or Counter Detailing to physicians after Drug Representatives are done talking to them.
Senator Hatch also spoke at Legislative Day about his impact on health care in Iowa, and while Senator Granstal talked a lot about the bill, Senator Hatch spoke about how he was going to get the bill passed. One way he plans to do this is by having aides/interns for each section of the bill educate his colleagues in the Iowa Legislature. While this is a tried and true method, one change was to have student pharmacist do this instead of law students for section VII. Our own Stephanie Swain and Drew Roberts were hired as interns for this purpose. They also talked about their experience so far in the student section.
The student section of legislative day was filled by two new legislators, Representatives Erik Helland and Nate Willems. They talked about the importance of one on one contact with representatives and how much impact it has on them. They also explained how much faster you can get their attention when you let them know you are a constituent. These are important lessons to remember as we try to influence legislators regarding the practice of pharmacy.
The legislative reception was not well attended by students though they were invited to it. This is unfortunate because it was an excellent opportunity to possibly meet your legislator and make a big impact for pharmacy in Iowa. Not only were there numerous legislators but the Governor also made an appearance for about 45 minutes. Hopefully next year more students will attend and continue to make Legislative Day a successful endeavor.
Al Abrahamsen
APhA SPAN Co-Chair
IPA Liaison
The part of the bill that is of most interest to pharmacy is section VII providing an easier way for pharmacist to bill for Medication Therapy Management (MTM) services. It would also force Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBM) to be more transparent about their business practices. This might help explain why in some cases only the brand name drug is covered and not the cheaper generics. The bill also provides pharmacist the opportunity to do Academic or Counter Detailing to physicians after Drug Representatives are done talking to them.
Senator Hatch also spoke at Legislative Day about his impact on health care in Iowa, and while Senator Granstal talked a lot about the bill, Senator Hatch spoke about how he was going to get the bill passed. One way he plans to do this is by having aides/interns for each section of the bill educate his colleagues in the Iowa Legislature. While this is a tried and true method, one change was to have student pharmacist do this instead of law students for section VII. Our own Stephanie Swain and Drew Roberts were hired as interns for this purpose. They also talked about their experience so far in the student section.
The student section of legislative day was filled by two new legislators, Representatives Erik Helland and Nate Willems. They talked about the importance of one on one contact with representatives and how much impact it has on them. They also explained how much faster you can get their attention when you let them know you are a constituent. These are important lessons to remember as we try to influence legislators regarding the practice of pharmacy.
The legislative reception was not well attended by students though they were invited to it. This is unfortunate because it was an excellent opportunity to possibly meet your legislator and make a big impact for pharmacy in Iowa. Not only were there numerous legislators but the Governor also made an appearance for about 45 minutes. Hopefully next year more students will attend and continue to make Legislative Day a successful endeavor.
Al Abrahamsen
APhA SPAN Co-Chair
IPA Liaison
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