NACDS letter to House asks for implementation delay of tamper-proof prescriptions
ALEXANDRIA, Va. The National Association of Chain Drug Stores issued a letter to the leadership of the House of Representatives asking for immediate action to delay the required use of tamper-resistant paper for all Medicaid prescriptions as part of the upcoming “continuing resolution” or any other legislation that Congress passes prior to October 1, 2007, the implementation date.
In addition to NACDS efforts to push back the implementation, House supporters issued a letter to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and the Subcommittee on Health urging Congressional action to push back the implementation date to ensure that physicians have ample time to prepare and incorporate the use of tamper-resistant prescription pads for their Medicaid patients. Reps. Charlie Wilson, D-Ohio, Mike Ross, D-Ark., Marion Berry, D-Ark., and Tom Allen, D-Maine, signed the letter to committee chairman John Dingell, D-Mich. and subcommittee chairman Frank Pallone, D-N.J. and committee ranking member Joe Barton, R-Texas, and subcommittee ranking member Nathan Deal, R-Ga.
“We thank Reps. Wilson, Ross, Berry and Allen for their support on behalf of community pharmacy to delay this rushed implementation date. Community pharmacies are the primary providers of prescriptions to Medicaid beneficiaries. While we support efforts to reduce fraud, we have concerns that it will be difficult for Medicaid beneficiaries to obtain prescription medications and will result in economic hardship for many community pharmacies,” said Steve Anderson, NACDS president and chief executive officer.
According to NACDS, implementation problems and issues range from whether a sufficient number of pads will be available to the tens of thousands of prescribers that write hundreds of millions of prescriptions for Medicaid beneficiaries each year, where and how prescribers will obtain the pads, the specific requirements for the pads, who will pay for the cost of the pads and the potential for delays for Medicaid recipients receiving prescription medications.