|
Recent Legislative and Regulatory Victories |
** Passage
of Act 102
PPA was instrumental in
influencing and working with other pharmacy
groups to bring about this act which greatly
advanced pharmacy practice in Pennsylvania -
allowing pharmacists to provide immunizations
and establishing CDTM (Collaborative Drug
Therapy Management) in institutions.
**
Eliminated
Mandatory Mail Order in the
PACE program
During 2003, the legislature
was in the process of expanding the PACE
program to include more seniors by raising the
income thresholds. In order to cover the
costs of these additional seniors, many
legislators were convinced they would realize
savings in the program through a mandatory
mail order program. PPA worked diligently
through lobbying efforts, grassroots contacts,
and providing crucial testimony to remove this
provision from the final bill.
**
Established
regular price updates for PACE
In the same PACE bill,. PPA was
successful in negotiating wording which
specifically calls for regular price updates
in the PACE and PACENET programs.
**
Defeated a tax clearance
initiative aimed at professional licenses
PPA worked with other
healthcare licensees as well as other
professional licensure groups to hold off this
initiative earlier this year during budget
proposals. Unfortunately, this idea is likely
to return again.
**
Stopped
initiatives in 2002 to reduce Medicaid
reimbursement levels
The Department of Public
Welfare had introduced regulations in the
summer of 2002 which would further reduce
pharmacy reimbursements in the fee-for-service
medical assistance program. PPA worked with
the legislature and the Independent Regulatory
Review Commission (IRRC) to prevent this
occurrence.
|
|
|
|
