Content about Congress

WASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration has finished and sent to Congress its recommendations for a proposed Generic Drug User Fee Act, drawing praise from the generic drug industry.

GDUFA calls for the generic industry to pay $299 million per year for five years, in addition to what Congress gives the FDA. The money would come in the form of user fees for companies that submit regulatory approval applications to the agency for review.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The National Association of Chain Drug Stores and National Community Pharmacists Association issued a statement on Thursday announcing that they commend Reps. Bruce Braley, D-Iowa; Mike Rogers, R-Mich.; and 38 of their colleagues who expressed concerns with draft Federal Upper Limits lists that recently have been published by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — A combination of two insulins made by Novo Nordisk reduced abnormally low blood sugar in diabetes patients, according to study results presented at a medical conference.

NEW YORK — Pfizer's efforts to protect the sales of its blockbuster cholesterol drug Lipitor have attracted scrutiny from members of Congress, according to published reports.

The New York Times reported Thursday that three senators — Max Baucus, D-Mont.; Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa; and Herb Kohl, D-Wis. — had asked Pfizer and five other companies to provide details of their agreements to prevent dispensing of generic versions of Lipitor (atorvastatin) and dispense only the branded version.

WASHINGTON — Internet retailers have an unfair advantage over Main Street merchants when it comes to sales tax, and legislation may be the solution to help level the playing field, according to the National Retail Federation.

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT'S IMPORTANT — If the ultimate goal of the Affordable Care Act is to save money and expand patient care, then making patients visit their physicians and get prescriptions just to get reimbursed for over-the-counter medications — which wastes money, as well as the time of physicians, a precious commodity when the country is set to have a shortage of them — makes no sense.

In February, Drug Store News discussed three issues concerning generic drugs that would figure prominently throughout the year: drug safety, user fees and patent settlements.


WASHINGTON — The Preserve Community Pharmacy Access NOW! coalition, which is a coalition of consumers, businesses and community-based pharmacists from across the country that have come together to oppose the planned mega-merger of Express Scripts and Medco Health Solutions, has issued a call to action to protect Americans from rising costs and decreased access to health care by stopping the planned merger of the PBMs.

How many times have we heard it said that one day in America there will be a nationwide health information network that will link patients, providers and payers seamlessly, efficiently and securely, across a universal standardized system? It’s been the dream of health information technology strategists and engineers for decades. And yet, when you take a look at the healthcare experience of the typical American consumer, you’d be hard-pressed to find evidence that we are any closer to achieving that dream today than we were in the days of the Carter administration.


A group representing independent pharmacies is urging Congress to cut the deficit by reducing healthcare expenditures, but “without compromising patients’ access to their pharmacy of choice or harming local jobs.” In a letter sent last month to the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, the National Community Pharmacists Association suggested increasing use of generic drugs, encouraging such services as medication therapy management, collecting manufacturer rebates, and allowing patients to choose their pharmacies and avoid requirements to use mail-order services.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The National Community Pharmacists Association is recommending several ways for reducing Medicare Part D fraud, waste and abuse to the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs subcommittee, the group said Tuesday.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The National Association of Chain Drug Stores has launched a new drive-time radio advertisement in the Washington, D.C., market to warn of the potential consequences of the proposed merger between pharmacy benefit managers Express Scripts and Medco.