This week, Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) introduced S. 2426, The Ensuring Community Access to Pharmacist Services Act (ECAPS). The bill would ensure Medicare beneficiaries can easily access health care services by authorizing pharmacists to test and treat COVID-19, flu, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and strep throat.
These policies recognize pharmacists and their role in improving health care access by establishing Medicare Part B direct reimbursement for pharmacist services. NCPA strongly supports the legislation, and its counterpart in the House (H.R. 3164), which currently has a bipartisan list of 44 cosponsors. Read NCPA's press release on the Senate bill's introduction here.
