Regulators May Face Retaliation As They Protect Patients From Harm
https://www.change.org/p/stop-forcing-mail-order-pharmacy/u/31308504
Boards of Pharmacy across the United States risk it all to protect patients as they move forward to regulate mail order pharmacies. The fear we feel as advocating to ensure that patients have safe access to medications may be similar to the fear that they may feel.
Many board members get paid by the companies they regulate as insurance companies have merged with mail order pharmacies and pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs). Optum Rx, CVS Caremark, and Express Scripts are the three largest.
Doing what’s right for the patients could mean that Board members could lose their jobs if employed by one of these large corporations, and independent pharmacists on Boards could get audited out of business by these companies. Some may also fear retaliation in the form of physical harm. Regulators on these Boards that are regulating properly are more heroic today than ever.
I’ve spoken to pharmacists that have received threats, faced audits from these companies that resulted in financial penalties, had private investigators hired to follow them, and received warning letters. The letters stated that sharing negative patient stories that highlighted poor treatment received by these companies went against their contract. Pharmacists have stated that losing one of the contracts with the insurance companies’ pharmacy benefit managers, such as Optum RX, CVS Caremark, or Express Scripts, could mean closing their doors. These three companies oversee their reimbursements, which is an obvious conflict of interest.
As Boards work to put patients ahead of corporate profits, they need our support and protection from these companies. It’s why it’s so important that legislators and Media follow this story and provide an opportunity for regulators to report if regulators, patients, or pharmacists are retaliated against for speaking about the issues or for acting to protect patients. We appreciate that Adiel Kaplan from NBC is committed to reporting on the Boards and updating the public.
Last week, public comment showed that Express Scripts threatened the Oklahoma Board of Pharmacy with a lawsuit if they moved forward with regulation. The board still bravely moved forward. We are beyond thankful for each one of the members, but many of us worry about them at the same time as they are setting a strong stance for other Boards to follow.
Some boards may not believe they have the power to stand against these three giants and regulate such an issue as temperature regulation or delays, but they can. They must start somewhere to leave the future of pharmacy in a better state for patients like my son.
It’s difficult for some to envision a world where medications are handled quickly and safely throughout the supply chain.
If we can envision it, we can help them envision it too.
The lack of regulation has slowed innovation for safe and timely delivery of medications from mail order pharmacies. The regulation should have been in place 20-30 years ago as many patients were beginning to be steered or forced to mail order as the only coverage option. The time is now.
In summary, I’ll always advocate first for patient choice of pharmacy, but today, America desperately needs the Boards of Pharmacy to hear us clearly. We need them to take the first step and truly envision a nation where medications are delivered timely and safely. Then, we must empower and support them as they begin to regulate these issues and, for the first time in our nation’s history, truly protect patients from harm by mail order pharmacies that many are forced to use. In return, we must also ensure Board members are protected.
If you are willing to become more involved in your state to ensure the protection of patients, please let me know. My email is loretta@uniteforsafemeds.com
Thank you for your support.
Loretta Boesing
Make a Donation to Support Our Advocacy
Filed under: General Problems
Mail ordering medications has really never made sense to me. We are seeing increasing numbers of postal workers being caught for stealing things from the mail, for example. And some of us a prohibited from paying cash out of pocket due to the “high risk of diversion”, yet how many hands do controlled substances have to pass through when they’re mail ordered? An accidental wrong address delivery or a package stolen from a porch are additional and, from my persepctive, more realisitic risks. I’ve read horror stories from many patienys who are obligated to use mail ordering medications as their means of filing them, which include packages that are delayed by a month or more, at very least often several days, and even some reports of never receiving the delivery, which is also always a possibility. As I understand it, “lost” medications are never replaced because patients are instructed to wait so long that they’ll be on their next fill before they can get assistance, in many cases. One would think if they’re going to essentially criminalize paying with cash, in person, where ID can be checked and there is evidence that the medications have gotten to the intended receiver, that risking events which could be caused by so many unforseeable variables, would be a nonstarter. However, that would only really apply if the sole intention was actual patient safety and ease of fill. It would very much appear that is not the case in this instance. It appears to be just another case of throwing patients under the bus because it isn’t our best interests they’ve put first. Same old song and dance, when it comes to certain aspects of medical care these days.