NCPA urges investigation of longstanding mail-order issues
By HME News Staff
Updated Fri August 28, 2020
ALEXANDRIA, Va. - The National Community Pharmacists Association is urging the House Ways and Means Committee to broaden its investigation into potential delivery delays for mail-order medications due to changes at the U.S. Postal Service to include long-term problems with mail-order prescription plans. The NCPA has long said mail order has led to damaged or missing medications in some cases, expensive medication waste in others, conflicts of interest, and decreased patient choice and access to reliable pharmacy care. “Because PBMs steer customers into mail order plans this limits patients to one pharmacy, and these captive customers are essentially unable to go elsewhere, even when the patient's medications are delayed, lost in the mail or mis-delivered,” said Karry La Violette, NCPA senior vice president of government affairs. “Problems with forced or incentivized mail order plans have been taking place for some time and too many patients have found themselves scrambling, even before added difficulties brought by the coronavirus pandemic.” The association has documented mail-order waste and abuse as part of its Waste Not, Want Not campaign.
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