Federal Programs

Support Grows for Proposed Ban on Retroactive DIR Fees

Posted on September 30, 2016

As reported this week by the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA), TPA and 98 other pharmacy stakeholders recently wrote the sponsors and original co-sponsors of S. 3308/H.R. 5951, the Improving Transparency and Accuracy in Medicare Part D Spending Act, which is aimed at reining in retroactive direct and indirect remuneration (DIR) fees imposed by pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) in Medicare Part D. In our letter, we thanked the sponsors and co-sponsors for their leadership in introducing and endorsing this measure.

Two weeks ago, TPA asked members to contact their U.S. legislators to ask them to support this measure (and others). At that time, no Tennessee Representatives were co-sponsoring the House version of this bill. However, as a result of your efforts, two of them – Rep. Chuck Fleishmann and Rep. David Roe – have now signed on. We thank them for their support, and we thank YOU for your efforts! Let’s keep up the good work! Read on for information about this legislation, and find out how you can help.

Direct and Indirect Remuneration (DIR) Legislation

HR 5951 / S 3308: Improving Transparency and Accuracy in Medicare Part D Spending Act (Rep. Griffith / Sen. Capito)
Total House Co-sponsors: 23 (including 2 Tennessee Representatives [Fleischmann and Roe])
Total Senate Co-Sponsors: 8 (No Tennessee Senators)
Talking Points

Please engage with your U.S. legislators regarding this important legislation! TPA has made it easier than ever to engage through the TPA website, using the automated Tennessee Pharmacists Legislative Action Network (T-PLAN) service!

How YOU Can Engage Through T-PLAN:

Visit the Tennessee Pharmacists Legislative Action Network (T-PLAN) page on the TPA website.
Click on the advocacy campaign you would like to contact your U.S. Representative and U.S. Senators about.
The system will automatically create an email. You can customize it and add your signature.
Enter your name, home address, zip code and other pertinent information at the bottom of the page. The system will automatically identify your own personal legislators and send them either a “Please Support” or “Thank You For Your Support” email, depending on whether or not they are already sponsoring the legislation.
Click SEND.

If you have questions about the Direct and Indirect Remuneration (DIR) Legislationabove, other legislative measures important to pharmacy, or how to use T-PLAN to contact your legislators, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me or a member of our TPA staff. If you’d like to learn more about how you can support pharmacy through advocacy, please visit the TPA Legislative Advocacy Center, and also consider becoming a contributor to the Tennessee Pharmacists Political Action Committee (PharmPAC).

Thank you,

Micah Cost, PharmD, MS
TPA Executive Director