A big day today for area pharmacists and their staff members. Mike Burns, with Auburn Pharmacy says his stores will be closed that day so everyone can go to Topeka and attend Kansas Pharmacists Association Advocacy Day. The event will bring pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, student pharmacists and all other pharmacy staff together for grassroots advocacy with Kansas lawmakers. Pharmacists will be able to share their stories with representatives and senators at the Kansas State Capitol and help advance the industry’s priorities into this year’s legislative session.
One main priority…pharmacy benefit managers, who control how much a pharmacy is reimbursed for a medication they dispense. Roekers pharmacy in Paola permanently closed at the end of 2024, due to what owner Nate Roekers called ‘unfair reimbursement’ making it almost impossible for small independent pharmacies to stay open. Burns says that is just one of 9 key points they want to emphasize to lawmakers.
Others include, protection against excessive and arbitrary fees, institute network access standards that exclude mail order, allow for selective participation in networks without being forced into unfair contracts, and protection against patient steerage to PBM-owned pharmacies.
