Ensuring Seniors Access to Local Pharmacies Act of 2017

Bill: 115-s-1044
Sponsor: full_name: Sen. Capito, Shelley Moore [R-WV]
Introduced: 2017-05-04
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Health care costs and insurance

Medicare

Prescription drugs

Retail and wholesale trades
Latest action: action_date: 2017-05-04
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.

Summaries:
action_date: 2017-05-04
action_desc: Introduced in Senate
text: <p><b>Ensuring Seniors Access to Local Pharmacies Act of 2017</b></p> <p>This bill modifies requirements regarding access to preferred pharmacies (i.e., pharmacies that provide reduced enrollee cost sharing for prescription drugs) under a Medicare prescription drug plan (PDP).</p> <p>Specifically, if a Medicare PDP has, in its pharmacy network, one or more preferred pharmacies located in a health shortage or medically underserved area, then the PDP sponsor must allow any pharmacy in the health shortage or medically underserved area to join the preferred pharmacy network under comparable terms and conditions.</p>

tv_txt: II 115th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 1044 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES May 4, 2017 Mrs. Capito (for herself, Mr. Brown , Mr. Cotton , and Mr. Manchin ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance A BILL To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to ensure equal access of Medicare beneficiaries to community pharmacies in underserved areas as network pharmacies under Medicare prescription drug coverage, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Ensuring Seniors Access to Local Pharmacies Act of 2017 . 2. Allowing any State board certified pharmacy serving an underserved area to become a network pharmacy under medicare prescription drug coverage (a) In general Section 1860D–4(b)(1)(B) of the Social Security Act ( 42 U.S.C. 1395w–104(b)(1)(B) ) is amended— (1) by striking Discounts allowed for network pharmacies .—For and inserting the following: “ Discounts allowed for network pharmacies .— (i) In general For ; and (2) by adding at the end the following new clause: (ii) Inclusion of pharmacies located in underserved areas in networks In the case of a prescription drug plan that has, in its network of pharmacies, one or more pharmacies located in a health professional shortage area (as defined in section 332(a)(1)(A) of the Public Health Service Act), in a medically underserved area (according to a designation under section 330(b)(3)(A) of the Public Health Service Act), or among a medically underserved population (as defined in such section 330(b)(3)(A) of such Act), and that provides a reduction in coinsurance or copayments described in clause (i) for covered part D drugs dispensed through such pharmacies, such plan shall extend to any pharmacy located in such area or among such population the option to be an in-network pharmacy with respect to such plan under terms and conditions (including the reductions described in clause (i)) comparable to those the plan has agreed upon with other in-network pharmacies located in such area or among such population. . (b) Effective date The amendments made by this section shall apply to plan years beginning on or after January 1, 2018.