The fight for the future of Community Pharmacy. Community Pharmacies are committed to providing care for their communities. Many provide specialty services which aim to improve patient access to medicines. However, the industry as a whole is under pressure. Decreasing reimbursement and arbitrary fee structures from PBMs push many sites to close. Californians for Access to Life Saving Medicine (a coalition of CPhA) is a group of passionate pharmacists, patient advocates, academic institutions, and providers that are fighting to reverse this trend.
Success Stories:
- Clawback Stopped. Our lawsuit against the State halted the Medi-Cal clawbacks. This single action saved community pharmacies from millions of dollars in government recoupment, which would have resulted in the closures of pharmacies serving Medi-Cal patients.
- Assembly Bill 2100. This legislative initiative carries on the fight to improve patient access to Medi-Cal. Measures in the bill help patients who are currently limited in access for specialty medications (i.e. HIV, HepC, Cancer, Behavioral Health).
The Fight Continues: Though PBMs are in a position to positively impact healthcare, many of their practices (such as patient steering, retroactive fee structures) harm patients and abuse their pharmacy networks. The coalition is taking the necessary steps to address these practices within the State.
How can I help:
- Learn more about this fight. https://rx-fairness.org/
- Join the coalition. Participate in initiatives which drive our advocacy efforts.
- Contribute. We are completely funded by contributions. Though it is difficult to ask for funds while providers are fighting the COVID-19 crisis, we need your help TODAY to continue this fight.