The Pharmacy and Medically Underserved Areas Enhancement Act, or Provider Status, was introduced into Congress about a month ago and since that time we have seen a flurry of discussion about the bill. Advocates are sending letters and meeting with their members of Congress to discuss the importance of this bill for Medicare beneficiaries inContinue reading “How to make Congress see the value of pharmacists!”
Category Archives: Provider Status
Pharmacist Reimbursement for Test and Treat – Guest Writer Parsa Famili
My interest in discussing how pharmacists should be reimbursed for performing diagnostic tests, including rapid strep, influenza, and H. pylori tests, as well as the pharmacists ability to furnish medications to appropriately treat the patient based on the test results, stems from the passion I developed for advocating for these services with our state pharmacyContinue reading “Pharmacist Reimbursement for Test and Treat – Guest Writer Parsa Famili”
Provider Status Explained: What Pharmacists can do to advocate for Provider Status
Last week we got some incredibly exciting news with the introduction of H.R. 2759 – The Pharmacy and Medically Underserved Areas Enhancement Act — into the United States (U.S.) House of Representatives. This bipartisan piece of legislation was introduced by Representatives G.K. Butterfield (D-NC) and David McKinley (R-WV). As a quick reminder, this bill wouldContinue reading “Provider Status Explained: What Pharmacists can do to advocate for Provider Status”
Budget Reconciliation and the Possibility for Pharmacy
This week you’re going to hear the same two phrases… a lot. Budget resolution and budget reconciliation. We’ve provided an overview of The Budget Reconciliation Process in a previous blog post, but this time we wanted to get a bit more in depth, especially since a closely divided Congress may end up using the reconciliationContinue reading “Budget Reconciliation and the Possibility for Pharmacy”
Changes to pharmacist’s incident to billing and the Physician Fee Schedule
Wow! We thought things may slow down for a bit after the election, but instead health policy changes seem to be happening more frequently than ever. As rates of COVID surge across the country, it is vitally important pharmacists understand these changes and how they apply to practice. By better understanding these rapid health policyContinue reading “Changes to pharmacist’s incident to billing and the Physician Fee Schedule”
Pharmacists tapped to provide COVID-19 vaccine in nursing homes
Late last week, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) made two surprising announcements. First, a press release was sent out that CMS would not be enforcing provider restrictions for the administration of the anticipated COVID-19 vaccine in skilled nursing facilities (SNF), specifically referencing pharmacists. Following this press release, a second announcement shared theContinue reading “Pharmacists tapped to provide COVID-19 vaccine in nursing homes”
Provider Status Explained: Understanding the how behind the state legislative strategy
It’s been a while since we posted in our Provider Status Explained series because of all that has been evolving in the quickly changing world of health policy. We now want to come back to continue our discussion on one of the most important legislative priorities for the patients of pharmacists and the pharmacy profession:Continue reading “Provider Status Explained: Understanding the how behind the state legislative strategy”
Advocacy Alert: How to ask for provider status inclusion in the next COVID-19 bill
The next COVID-19 legislative package In this “new normal” of the pandemic we have seen giant pieces of legislation being crafted and passing through Congress. These packages are being used for a variety of different issues in order to help the country respond to the pandemic. We saw the results of the CARES Act asContinue reading “Advocacy Alert: How to ask for provider status inclusion in the next COVID-19 bill”
Provider Status Explained: Understanding the how behind the federal legislative strategy
Provider status is essential to the future of the profession of pharmacy. We explained last week the reason why pharmacists need provider status now more than ever (if you missed it, check out the post here) and began to discuss some of the background around why this shift in the business model is so substantial.Continue reading “Provider Status Explained: Understanding the how behind the federal legislative strategy”
Provider Status Explained: Why do pharmacists need provider status?
Provider status has been such a focus of the pharmacy profession for decades. However, before we talk about how to advocate for provider status, it’s important to understand why something needs to change. It’s all about that product My grandfather was a community pharmacist in the Cleveland, Ohio area for nearly 50 years. I rememberContinue reading “Provider Status Explained: Why do pharmacists need provider status?”
The Grassroots Pharmacist 