Join the TPA Independent Pharmacy Academy!
- Ben McNabb, PharmD
- Jun 24, 2022
- 2 min read
Updated: Jul 27, 2022
Howdy Pharmacy Cowboys and Pharmacy Cowgirls!
I hope my first blog post finds you well. If you haven't seen my first video check it out below. I sincerely hope you will consider joining the Texas Pharmacy Association and the NEW TPA Independent Pharmacy Academy. We have already accomplished so much but we could really use your support.
I'm incredibly proud of the bill TPA passed last #TxLeg session. Ask yourself, what would have happened if TPA didn't fight to remove "poison pill" language from HB 1763? Independent pharmacies would still have massive roadblocks when dispensing specialty drugs and little to no protection would exist against retroactive clawback fees (aka DIR fees) in Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) regulated plans.
TDI regulated plans comprise approximately 20-30% of all commercial insurance plans in Texas. We have a long way to go to regulate the other 70-80%. The good news is we are in a much stronger position now that the landslide 8-0 decision in Rutledge vs. PCMA has opened up the possibility to regulate the rest of the commercial insurance market governed by ERISA. I, for one, would like to expand the language of a strong bill to ERISA plans, not a "poison pill" version negotiated by PCMA and the Texas Pharmacy Business Council (TPBC). Pharmacists must be vigilant and hold leaders accountable for legislation that affects all of Texas pharmacy. Don't just read newsletters that boast about the passage of legislation, be sure to read the detailed text of a bill. The devil is truly in the details and independent pharmacy is "2 minutes to midnight." We can't afford to pass bills that are ineffective.
Below find the redlined markup of the PCMA/TPBC version of HB 1763 and see how TPA saved the day. And trust me, TPA made every effort to communicate "poison pill" concerns with TPBC and wanted to work together to pass better legislation. REJECTED. The point of TPA-IPA was to bring everyone together and increase our effectiveness. As an American Pharmacies member and former TPBC board member, trust me, I've made every effort to bridge the divide myself. To this day TPBC still refuses to work with the rest of Texas pharmacy in any capacity. ZERO. Frankly, I'm tired of it. Time for a different strategy. Maybe bringing more visibility, transparency, and accountability to the pharmacy advocacy process will help? I hear light is a great disinfectant.
We need more deputies to join the Texas Pharmacy Posse. We're wranglin' up the PBM Outlaws, bringin'em back to town, dead or alive. We need all the good Pharmacy Cowboys and Pharmacy Cowgirls to join in the fight, cause they're mean enough to steal a coin off a dead man's eyes. So y'all saddle your horse and grab your six-gun, we're riddin' out upon the rising sun. And don't forget what John Wayne said, "Courage is being scared to death and saddling up any way." God bless pharmacy and God bless Texas, Amen.
Join the TPA Independent Pharmacy Academy --> https://www.texaspharmacy.org/IPA
Support the PharmPAC --> https://www.texaspharmacy.org/page/PharmPAC
Ben is absolutely correct on the details he has mentioned. I, and many others, have tried work with other groups to obtain a single voice for pharmacy matters legislatively and every time we were given a rejection of unity. This tells me that a divided pharmacy is good for business... if your not a pharmacy. TPA's IPA is truly the only unbiased entity, free of influence from buying groups, insurances, PBMs, that represents what pharmacy needs and wants. If you are an independent pharmacy owner, you need to be a part of the IPA (and just so you know the IPA is the result of AIP and TIPA formally closing their doors and coming together) because without TPA's IPA's leaders…