Medicare Diabetes Supplies
Pharmacies Should Be Allowed to Keep Delivering Medicare Diabetes Supplies
At least three dozen House members want Medicare to reverse course and let small community pharmacies continue to deliver diabetes supplies to seniors homebound or in long-term care and assisted living facilities. Reps. Aaron Schock (R-Ill.) and Peter Welch (D-Vt.) have spearheaded a letter to Medicare, scheduled to be sent this week.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is implementing drastic cuts to its reimbursement levels for pharmacies providing diabetes test supplies to Medicare beneficiaries through the Part B program. As of July 1, uniform payment rates will apply to both mail order and local pharmacy providers. In addition, without a policy reversal, a ban on deliveries by pharmacies will also take effect then and seniors will be required to use mail order for delivery services.
In their forthcoming letter the lawmakers write, “Now that retail and mail order suppliers receive the same level of reimbursements, we believe there is no further reason to prohibit home delivery by retail pharmacies. We ask that you expeditiously consider allowing small retail pharmacies to continue home delivery and not prevent these crucial face-to-face counseling and adherence services from being available to Medicare patients.”
“This absurd policy of banning pharmacy deliveries to vulnerable patients is indefensible and must be overturned,” said NCPA CEO B. Douglas Hoey, Pharmacist, MBA. “For pharmacists it adds insult to injury, coming on top of the reimbursement cuts. For patients accustomed to the deliveries, it represents a needless hurdle in their efforts to combat diabetes.”