BILL TO REPEAL PHARMACY BENEFIT EXPANSION (NYRx) BAD FOR NYS
“On behalf of community pharmacies across the state, collectively represented by our associations, we strongly oppose legislation (S5136, Rivera) to repeal the scheduled shift of the Medicaid pharmacy benefit from managed care to NYRx. It must be rejected. “
“While S5136 is being referred to as a ‘compromise bill’ by its proponents, the only ‘compromise’ it makes is to compromise patient pharmacy care in the underserved communities that need it the most, which are already struggling with pharmacy deserts.”
“The shift to NYRx on April 1st will greatly enhance patient access to lifesaving medications and other pharmacy services in rural and urban areas across the State. It will increase transparency and the State will no longer pay ‘middlemen’ (health insurance plans and pharmacy benefit managers- PBMs) to administer the benefit that it can do itself. And patients will have one, expansive drug formulary and access to one of the largest pharmacy networks in the country so they can use their pharmacy of choice.”
“Where S5136 may serve health plan and PBM interests by enabling them to continue to profit off the NY Medicaid program, it will be devastating for local pharmacies and the communities they serve. Instead, New York must spend its finite resources on actual care for patients expanding covered medications and enabling patients to use the community pharmacy that is most accessible to them. This is how the shift to NYRx on April 1st will put the nearly 8 million New Yorkers with Medicaid first.”
“The SFY 2024 Executive Budget already provides the solution to address concerns raised by legitimate safety net providers. The budget leverages the savings from this much-needed reform to provide hundreds of millions of dollars to support their essential work and programs. Funding for safety net providers will not be subject to annual appropriations or negotiations making it more reliable than the federal 340B program, which is in flux.”
“State Legislators: Please trust your local pharmacists who like you have patients’ best interests at heart. NYRx is the right prescription to meet New York’s pharmacy care needs.”
For more information on the Pharmacists Society of the State of New York (PSSNY), please visit https://www.pssny.org/
For more information on the Community Pharmacy Association of New York State (CPANYS), please visit https://www.cpanys.org/
