The Year of Pharmacy: PART II

BY BRIAN SAPITA, former government affairs director, Michigan Pharmacists Association

During the 2021 legislative PAC panel at the MPA Annual Convention and Exposition, state Rep. Mary Whiteford (R-Casco) declared 2021 “the year of pharmacy.” Through MPA’s tireless advocacy efforts, we were able to lengthen that year into an entire legislative session. As a result, 2021-22 was an extremely positive time for pharmacy. We worked with state legislators, members of Michigan’s congressional delegation, various state departments and the governor’s office on everything we accomplished.

Provider status is always the goal of MPA and to ensure pharmacists can practice at the top of their license. We had our first pharmacist-prescribing legislation introduced with our oral contraceptive prescribing legislation. Additionally, we had legislation introduced allowing pharmacists to administer immunizations independent of a collaborative practice agreement with a physician. Even though both bills “died” in the legislature, they were firsts for the state and were a step towards provider status in Michigan. MPA will continue these efforts in 2023.

The legislative term kicked off with a bang, reintroducing a tweaked version of MPA’s pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) reform legislation that we had been pushing during the 2019-20 term. Michigan was one of the last states to have regulations placed on PBMs. MPA’s legislation was touted by many, including Speaker of the House Jason Wentworth, R-Farwell, as one of the nation’s most comprehensive pieces of PBM legislation. Through MPA’s advocacy network, we were able to educate the legislature and governor’s office and get the bill signed into law.

Electronic prescribing is now in effect; hopefully, it has been a smooth transition for everyone. When the e-prescribing bill was introduced, the original piece of legislation held pharmacists liable for any prescription that was not properly e-prescribed. MPA worked with the legislature to remove the language and ensure pharmacists would be held harmless. To allow for patient continuity of care, MPA recommended waiver language the prescribers could obtain under certain circumstances.

Dwindling reimbursements from Medicaid and commercial insurers were an issue for many of our independent pharmacies; MPA was able to bring those concerns to the legislature and for the past three years, we have been able to advocate for the inclusion of the National Average Drug Acquisition Cost (NADAC), plus a professional dispensing fee for our independent members. In the state’s last fiscal year, this amounted to $1.5 billion going to our community pharmacies.

These huge wins could not have been accomplished without the tireless efforts of the MPA and its advocates. On average, most legislation introduced has a 10 percent chance of being signed into law. However, MPA put in the work through early mornings, late nights and countless miles driven across the state to build relationships with legislators and department heads, yielding a 42 percent success rate with legislation that we worked on. The work is not done yet; the 101st legislature ended Dec. 31, and the 102nd legislature began Jan. 1. We have been working with the new legislators on important pharmacy issues such as white bagging, provider status, oral contraceptive prescribing, independent vaccine authority, and of course, more PBM reform which should improve reimbursements to our members.

This is the last time I write for the Michigan Pharmacist, and by the time you read this, I should have already moved on to my new government affairs position. I have enjoyed working with many of you over my years at MPA. I have put my heart into advocating on your behalf and am extremely proud of everything I have done for the pharmacy profession. I was in the scouts growing up and one of their mottos is “leave things better than you found it.” I can truthfully say I believe I have left MPA in a better state than I found it. I believe I have been able to lay the foundation for whoever comes after me to hit the ground running and score many wins for pharmacy. To all the members I have gotten to know, thank you for welcoming me. To my fellow MPA staff, thank you for being a second family.