CEO Message April 18, 2008
Author: Lynn Rolston
Dear Member,
On Wednesday, CPhA hosted its Annual CPhA Legislative Day. It was a huge success as more than 375 pharmacists and student pharmacists, many wearing white coats, joined us in Sacramento. To view pictures from our day at the Capitol, click here. CPhA staff was able to make appointments with more than 2/3rds of the legislators and many of the visiting teams made additional appointments. During these visits, members discussed the Governor’s cuts to Medi-Cal that begin on July 1, 2008 and urged legislators to vote YES on AB 2535 (CPhA sponsored), which deals with inadequate reimbursement to pharmacy providers. Additionally, they discussed our support if amended position on SB 1307, which will, among other things, extend the date for implementation of e-Pedigree for pharmacies to July 1, 2012. During the course of the day, we attended a rally at the Capitol in support of the Alzheimer’s Association and its fight against the Governor’s cuts. You may read our news release by clicking here. I’d also like to share with you some of the compliments we received for this year’s Legislative Day:
“Just a note to tell you all how great Legislative Day was. I was impressed with the turnout. I hope we can sustain this next year. As usual, you all did very well and were very informative. Thanks again for all that you do for the pharmacists in this State. Helping the pharmacists is what keeps me going. Great job.”
Paul Rohrer, CEO of Professional Pharmacy Alliance of California
“A quick note to congratulate you on a successful Legislative Day 2008. A hearty thank you for all your efforts. CPhA, its members, and the patients whom we serve are indeed fortunate to have you charting our collective legislative and regulatory course.”
Pierre S. Del Prato, President, Sacramento Valley Pharmacists Association
“Great day you all put together today, really makes me proud to keep telling all of the pharmacies of your efforts, which I do daily.”
Jerry Josephson, VP Marketing & Industry Relations, H.D. Smith
One of the highlights of the day was our keynote speaker Assembly Member Hector De La Torre. He was introduced by Past President of CPhA/NCPA John Tilley, who lives in his district. The Assembly member let us know how dire the situation is with the state budget overall. He believes this will be a very difficult budget fight this year and that we may not have a budget until fall. However, the current budget cuts as structured are likely to be changed somewhat.
Note: Even if the Assembly member is right and these cuts are restructured, hopefully in favor of pharmacy, September will be too late for many who have to start bearing the cuts on July 1, 2008. We heard the same information from many of the legislators we visited and we made sure they realized the timing problem. CPhA continues to work in many ways to stop these cuts to protect patients and pharmacies in California. We will continue to keep you updated as progress is made.
Students at Legislative Day
We had a record number of students attending Leg Day this year. For the second year in a row, there was a huge turnout from Touro, where the faculty encouraged, and in some cases mandated, attendance. There were also students from all of the other schools, and it was clear that their presence was very impressive to legislators. We heard great comments from the students who said they learned a lot and began to better understand the critical need for involvement in lawmaking to protect their profession.
Fundraising at Leg Day
During the program, President Paul Lofholm and I discussed the crucial need for donations to the Pharmacy Defense Fund by our members and friends. I.R. Patel from the Indian Pharmacists Association came to the stage and presented us with $47,000 in checks. We were also told that the Korean Pharmacists Association is donating $5,000. We had a number of individual contributions at the event as well, totaling more than $11,000. We still have a long way to go to fund the work that must be done to stop these cuts. This showing of support is absolutely outstanding and we thank everyone!
Owners, employees, pharmacists, technicians and students--now is the time to step up to the plate and send in your contribution. We all know the trickle-down affect that the budget cuts will have on an employer/employee and we all know no one is safe from its influence. Don't hesitate to donate - any amount will help. For more information on how to donate go to www.cpha.com and click on the side-bar for PDFC. CPhA needs everyone to join this fight to make the ONE PROFESSION, ONE VOICE slogan a reality.
Additionally, Dave Wilcox and Brian Komoto, Co-Chairs of the CPh-PAC, gave a report on the current balance of the PAC and then stressed the importance of additional contributions. Over $10,000 was raised that day for the PAC!
Cost of Dispensing Study
On Monday, April 14, a blast fax went out to all independent owners requesting participation in the CPhA Cost of Dispensing Study. Many of the chains have already agreed to participate. In order to have a balance of data, we need to be sure that a large number of independents participate as well. We urge you not to let the weekend go by without participating. You may complete your survey and send it via fax, using the cover sheet provided, or visit www.pharmaccount.com to fill out the survey online. You will create a profile along with a password, which only you will know. We strongly suggest using the online survey method. It is easy and enables you to make revisions at any time. In addition, using the online survey method provides you with a free analysis of your pharmacy’s dispensing-related costs. Remember all information is confidential and will not be shared or viewed by CPhA or any other outside entity. THIS IS YOUR OPPORTUNITY TO ASSIST WITH CURRENT COD NUMBERS!
AMCP Annual Meeting
On Thursday, CPhA Past President and AMCP Immediate Past President Steve Gray, CPhA President Paul Lofholm and CPhA staff member Paige Talley attended the 20th Annual Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) Conference held at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco. Paul and Paige delivered a warm welcome to 5,000 pharmacists in attendance and announced the establishment of the CPhA Academy of Managed Care, which is a first for State Pharmacy Associations in the nation. The announcement was met with applause and piqued the interest of many non-CPhA members in the audience. Keynote speakers for the conference included award-winning journalist, Ted Koppel of ABC News’ Nightline and Robert Reich, a professor of public policy at UC Berkeley, former Secretary of Labor under President Clinton and a regular columnist for NPR.
In celebration of their 20th Anniversary, Judy Cahill, Executive Director of AMCP, reviewed the history of the organization, introduced their Board and touted the value of AMCP’s partnership with CPhA in representing the needs of managed care pharmacy in California. Many CPhA members were in attendance, including Kenny Scott, Doug Hilbloom, John Jones, Craig Stern, Lee Meyer, Ron Sanui, Alison Lum, Ken Schell, Kathryn Knapp, Phil Oppenheimer, Nancy De Guire as well as 15 UOP students and two CPhA student reps from USC.
3rd Annual Student Summit - Next Weekend!
Time is running short to register for the Student Summit! The Student Summit is next weekend and the Committee has put together some great programs for you. This week’s highlighted program is the Residency Showcase. This program will provide students with general ideas of the timeline for applying for a residency, the differences between ASHP accredited and non-accredited pharmacy residency programs, the benefits of doing a residency, the realities of doing a residency and the application process. The cost to attend is only $50.00 and there are sponsorships available to those who register on a first come, first serve basis. In addition to the workshops, Rite Aid is providing a night out on Saturday at a local club called The Bitter End. Rite Aid has reserved an area for you to network with your peers and pharmacy professionals. So register today at www.cpha.com/studentsummit! It will be well worth your time and money to attend this year's Summit! If your schedule is congested, don’t hesitate to come for Saturday’s sessions only, which conclude with our traditional favorite, wine tasting with Brian Komoto and company.
National Medicare Training Program Audio-Conference Call
The next presentation in the My Health.My Medicare series of audio-conference training sessions sponsored by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will be held on Tuesday, April 22, 2008 from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. EST (11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. PST). The topic of conversation will be an update on competitive bidding program for durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthodics, and supplies (DMEPOS). The toll free dial in number is 1-800-475-0456 and the pass code is NMTP. For more information and handouts, click here.
In the News
Last week, the New York Times ran an article regarding the soaring co-payment rates for some high priced drugs. To read the article, click here.
Question of the Week
Dear Lynn,
The petitions for the coalition of Patients for Access to Medicines were distributed out to all of us last week. We have had patients signing these petitions all week long and we have completed several of them. I have been faxing in the completed petitions and I need to know what you want us to do with the originals?
Sincerely,
Jack Vasoya
Pharmacy Owner
Pomona, CA
Answer
Dear Jack,
Thank you so much for your outstanding effort. I know the petitions were very impressive during our visits to legislators on Leg Day. Please continue to fax them in to the number listed on the petition and then send the originals to CPhA. This effort will make a tremendous difference. We also have our California Chronic Care Coalition partners collecting signatures as well as students at the schools of pharmacy in California. Everyone’s participation is needed if we are going to stop these budget cuts and protect our patients and pharmacy.
Sincerely,
Lynn Rolston
Chief Executive Officer
California Pharmacists Association