- Including provisions to drive generic utilization which would increase taxpayer and government savings.

"The Saving Our Community Pharmacies Act of 2007 prevents the calamity that will ensue if CMS' draconian reimbursement guidelines are fully realized in a few months," said Bruce Roberts, RPh, NCPA Executive Vice President and CEO. "We are working with Congress to quickly pass this critical bill to create an accurate benchmark for community pharmacy drug expenses by eliminating discounts they aren't privy to, and establish cost-savings generic drug incentives."

Without H.R. 3140 becoming law, the economic losses community pharmacies will incur are significant. Information contained in the December 2006 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report and the 2006 NCPA-Pfizer Digest indicates that the total net profit for the average community pharmacy will fall by 60 percent under CMS' AMP rule. Community pharmacies receive 92 percent of their revenue from prescription drugs, which means these types of losses cannot be made up through other revenue streams.


NCPA worked closely with the offices of Reps. Boyda and Emerson to craft this legislation. Other original cosponsors, who have shown strong support for fixing the problem, are Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-Ala.), Rodney Alexander (R-La.), Marion Berry (D-Ark.), Jo Bonner (R-Ala.), Dan Boren (D-Ok.), Rick Boucher (D-Va.), Charles Boustany (R-La.), Bruce Braley (D-Iowa), Chris Carney (D-Pa.), Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), David Davis (R-Tenn.), Geoff Davis (R-Ky.), Bobby Etheridge (D-N.C.), Terry Everett (R-Ala.), Sam Farr (D-Calif.), Bart Gordon (D-Tenn.), Brian Higgins (D-N.Y.), Pete Hoekstra (R-Mi.), Walter Jones (R-N.C.), Frank LoBiondo (R-N.J.), Dave Loebsack (D-Iowa), Dennis Moore (D-Kan.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Solomon Ortiz (D-Texas), Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), Mike Ross (D-Ark.), Ike Skelton (D-Mo.), Todd Tiahrt (R-Kan.), Tim Walz (D-Minn.), and Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.).

"This bipartisan legislation is critical to maintaining patient access to their trusted community pharmacists who provide medical advice and fill their prescription drug needs," said NCPA president John Tilley, RPh, a pharmacy owner from Downey, Calif. "Without Congress acting in an expeditious fashion, many more communities will see their access to life-saving prescription drugs jeopardized. This doesn't just affect Medicaid patients. A closed pharmacy means all of its patients lose, which is an outcome CMS will have created by not heeding the warnings of Congress, NCPA and other business and healthcare organizations who have long understood that the AMP formula would have devastating consequences."

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