NCAP Legislative Update December 2020

North Carolina Association of Pharmacists Advancing Pharmacy. Improving Health.

Legislative and Policy Update December 8, 2020 Happy Holidays to All As with many others this year, the Thanksgiving Holiday was a time for a little relaxation and reflection. 2020 has certainly been a difficult year for everyone, but there are always things in life that bring us happiness, and for which we can be thankful. Among other things, I am thankful to serve as your lobbyist, and grateful for the relationships that I have developed with many NCAP members this year.

As Hanukkah and Christmas is upon us, I wish you and your family a safe and joyous holiday season.

Election Results We support any public official that supports the practice of pharmacy. We have worked hard to establish good relationships with Democrats and Republicans alike, so that regardless of how an election comes out, we are situated to be successful. We have good relationships with key committee chairs and have engaged them on our issues since the election. During this month and early January, General Assembly members will be in town sporadically for committee meetings. The Legislature is set to meet on January 13th for organizational and other matters with work on legislation to follow thereafter.

We applaud the re-election of Rep. Wayne Sasser and Senator Jim Perry, both of whom went to bat for pharmacy this last session. PILL PAC supported both candidates. Look for more information on PILL PAC below.

NCAP Agenda is Set We have a full agenda for this year’s session. Your NCAP leadership has been working hard on finalizing the bill language and we now move to vetting this with stakeholders, preparing supporting materials, updating our website and finding bill sponsors. It is a “step-by-step” process but if done well it can lead to a very successful legislative session. Here are how things stand:

Legislative Action • •

Address Pharmacy Benefits Manager organizations practices that negatively impact patient care.

Modernize and expand Collaborative Practice authority

• • • •

Obtain Payment Parity for Pharmacists Add Medication Administration to the Pharmacy Practice Act Seek Pharmacist prescriptive authority for a number of medications and medical conditions.

Use momentum gained from the Federal PREP Act Amendment to improve pharmacist immunization authority.

Also, on our agenda is medical cannabis legislation. Progress on this front will depend on a number of things falling into place in such a way as to make additional effort on this issue worthwhile. We are in the process of assessing the environment and looking for a path forward.

Regulatory Action • • •

Emergency Kits at Nursing Homes and Assisted Living Facilities.

CMS regulatory changes at the Federal level including enhanced dispensing fees, supplemental payments for home delivery and COVID and non-COVID related items Finalize task force work related to pharmacy technicians enhanced training and pay; and if ready, we may begin the regulatory process.

Between Now and January Setting our agenda and drafting language is only the beginning. Next, we work on all the supporting materials for each bill. These one or two page documents provide data, information and reasons why policy makers should support the legislation. We will be updating our advocacy pages on the NCAP website and vetting legislation with stakeholder groups. Finally we will be taking our legislation to members to secure sponsors and supporters.

Important: Supporting Those Who Support Pharmacy You will be glad to know that PILL PAC, the Political Action Committee that NCAP supports made some significant contributions to General Assembly members prior to election day. We have been saying that we have to support those who support pharmacy and we have done that this year. NCAP has two members on the 4-member board. Mike James and I provided them with the information they needed to make informed decisions about whom to provide financial support.

Donating to “PILLPAC” is the way that pharmacy can support current legislators who have supported us and elect individuals who will be good for the profession.

As we move forward, we will be making improvements to PILL PAC that will make it easier to contribute.

And, we need to broaden out those who contribute. This last year about a dozen pharmacists donated the brunt of what PILL PAC gave out. Obviously, that is not a sustainable model. All must do their part and it is not fair to ask a small number of colleagues to do what we all should be doing. We ask you to keep this in mind as we move forward in our overall advocacy plans.

Contributions to PILL PAC can be sent to this address: 209 Fayetteville Street: Raleigh, NC 27601 Another way that you can help, is to donate to the NCAP Advocacy Fund. This fund helps to support

the work of your lobbyist and our grassroots efforts to educate and promote our issues. Donations to the NCAP Advocacy Fund can be made online at: https://ncap.memberclicks.net/index.php?option=com_mcform&view=ngforms&id=2061308#/

Keep in mind, for both PILL PAC and the NCAP Advocacy Fund, no amount is too small, and every dollar counts.

Legislators “LIKE and NEED” to Hear from You! In a recent call with legislators one said: “You know, a lot of people called to congratulate me on my reelection. I never got one call from a pharmacist.”

We cannot emphasize strongly enough the importance of your voice and engagement as part of our efforts. If you have not done it yet, why not send an email or make a call to your local legislator telling them who you are and congratulating them on their success?

If you do not know who your legislators are, you can find them by visiting the NCAP Government Affairs at https://ncappolicyadvocacy.wixsite.com/mysite and click on “Find Your Legislator”.

We want to hear your thoughts on how we can be successful. Never hesitate to contact us with concerns, insights, or information that can be of use and which can enhance our efforts. Always feel free to contact me directly. My email is Solarigovernmentsolutions@gmail.com and my phone number is 919-744-8803.

As your lobbyist I am happy to answer any questions you have about my work and I am ready to assist you in any way possible.