Content about Congress

WASHINGTON While there is a need to modernize the regulatory structure of the cosmetics industry, the newly proposed Safe Cosmetics Act of 2010 as written "is not based on credible and established scientific principles" and would place an "enormous, if not impossible, burden on the Food and Drug Administration," the Personal Care Products Council stated in response to the legislation introduced on Wednesday.

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT'S IMPORTANT It’s been said many times that the people you know are as important as what you know. In the case of Billy Tauzin, former president and CEO of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, this adage was especially true, considering his former career as a member of Congress.

(THE NEWS: PhRMA names new president, CEO. For the full story, click here)

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT'S IMPORTANT Independent pharmacy clearly has found its voice.

(THE NEWS: Indie pharmacy applauds move in Congress to end aggressive Part B recoupment efforts. For the full story, click here)

NEW YORK The Convenient Care Association has announced the creation of National Convenient Care Clinic Week, Aug. 2 to 6, which will be held in conjunction with The Drug Store News Group/Retail Clinician magazine's annual Retail Clinician Education Congress.

"We are very excited to launch Convenient Care Week. Convenient care clinics and their providers are part of the solution to ensure that all Americans have access to quality primary care when and where they need it at a price they can afford," stated Tine Hansen-Turton, executive director of the CCA.

Last issue I wrote about the 9-in.-by-12-in. box on my desk, in which I keep my own personal copy of Congress’ Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

Lately, I have been pondering something heavier than that 25-lb. box of paper. What would health reform look like if I could light it on fire and start all over again?

I think I would take a page from what works about specialty pharmacy. I was reminded of this as I read the findings from two recent surveys that CVS Caremark released in April, about a week apart from each other, around the topic of adherence.

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT’S IMPORTANT Once again, government seems to be mangling the delicate balance among pharmacies, generic drug suppliers and consumers. Ontario lawmakers and health “reformers” are doing it the old-fashioned way: by seeking short-term cost cuts at the expense of long-term savings.

(THE NEWS: Shoppers Drug Mart responds to Ontario's revised generic pricing rules. For the full story, click here)

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT'S IMPORTANT With health reform standing at a crossroad, the pharmacy industry no doubt is keeping full-court press on lawmakers during this crucial time as clearly evidenced by the second annual NACDS RxIMPACT Day on Capitol Hill held on March 11.

(THE NEWS: Pharmacy leaders flock to Capitol for second NACDS RxIMPACT Day. For the full story, click here)

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT’S IMPORTANT For the second year in a row, Raleigh, N.C.-based Kerr Drug has earned high marks from a major health provider network for its ability to deliver effective medication therapy management to its patients. Considering that MTM is critical to the future of pharmacy as a real, patient-centered healthcare profession instead of merely a dispenser of medications, Kerr’s efforts — and recognition by Outcomes Pharmaceutical Health Care for those efforts — are a timely step in the right direction.

NEW YORK The mid-December plea by 16 members of Congress to assure a fair payment for pharmacies that dispense generic drugs to Medicaid patients was welcome news. But with the movement to pass a health-reform bill reaching a crescendo in the Senate, the flawed Medicaid pharmacy reimbursement system still is a hot potato that too few lawmakers seem willing or able to touch.

More aptly, it’s a political football that keeps getting tossed around the House and Senate health-reform debate.

NEW YORK To paraphrase a quote often attributed — but probably incorrectly — to 19th century German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, if you like either laws or sausages, it’s best not to watch them being made.

That maxim could certainly apply to the seemingly endless bickering over the details of the health-reform debate in Congress. But in an era of constant Internet news feeds, blogging and instantaneous, on-the-spot reporting and analysis, it’s virtually impossible to avoid the spectacle.

NEW YORK Like their chain pharmacy counterparts, the people who own and operate their own single-store or small-chain drug stores — as well as the advocacy groups that lobby on their behalf — are keeping close tabs on the progress of the various health-reform bills moving through the U.S. Senate and House. They should.