[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 107 (Thursday, June 26, 2008)]
[House]
[Pages H6150-H6151]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 PHARMACISTS FIRST LINE OF HEALTH CARE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Moran) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. MORAN of Kansas. Madam Speaker, pharmacies play a critical role 
in delivering health care in America. Local pharmacists are the first 
line of defense in recognizing health problems and providing medical 
advice. Unfortunately, it is becoming more and more difficult to find 
and retain pharmacists who will practice in rural areas. With the 
impending retirement of the baby boomer generation, this problem only 
becomes worse. It is estimated that over the next 20 years, there will 
be a shortage of 150,000 or more pharmacists nationwide.
  We are already experiencing this problem in Kansas. Seven counties in 
our State do not even have one single pharmacist; and 30 other counties 
have only one pharmacist in the county.
  During my time in Congress, I have advocated for community 
pharmacies, and I currently co-chair the Congressional Community 
Pharmacy Caucus.
  I was pleased that this week the House chose to address several 
important issues related to the issue of pharmacists in H.R. 6331, the 
Medicare Improvement for Patients and Provider

[[Page H6151]]

Act. This legislation includes provisions that community pharmacists 
from across my State have been tirelessly advocating for and that are 
important to keeping them in business.
  The Congressional Community Pharmacy Caucus worked hard to get these 
necessary fixes included in this legislation, and I am gratified that 
they were included in H.R. 6331. These provisions are included in bills 
that I have sponsored, and they include prompt pay. The bill requires 
pharmacies to be reimbursed within 14 days if clean claims are 
submitted electronically and 30 days if submitted in other ways.
  The AMP delay, this is the average manufacturer's price, the bill 
delays the implementation of the provisions creating the average 
manufactured price that was developed by CMS and which in my opinion is 
a terribly flawed system. The bill delays the implementation of the AMP 
system until after September 30, 2009.
  Finally, the bill suspends the competitive bidding requirements in 
the durable medical equipment program for 1 year as well, as well as 
exempting diabetes test supplies from being subjected to the 
competitive bidding process.
  It is important to the health of Americans and certainly to the 
health of rural Kansans that the Senate promptly adopt this 
legislation.
  Also this week, it was my pleasure to participate in a ceremonial 
signing of the Kansas legislation that will allocate $20 million in 
funding to help the University of Kansas School of Pharmacy increase 
the school's ability to conduct more pharmaceutical research and expand 
the size of the entering class at the school. Under this proposal, 
nearly 200 students would be able to enter the program through a 
satellite campus in Wichita in a new building being built on the main 
campus in Lawrence.
  The University of Kansas has a strong reputation for retaining 
graduates within our State. Sixty-three percent of KU pharmacy 
graduates live and work in Kansas. Increasing the educational capacity 
will give students an opportunity to learn, and will help address 
pharmaceutical shortages in our State.
  I would like to commend the leadership of the university, especially 
the dean of the School of Pharmacy, Ken Andus; Executive Vice 
Chancellor Barbara Atkinson; Provost Richard Lavalare; and Chancellor 
Robert Hemenway. I would also like to thank the legislature of our 
State for seeing the importance of this expansion.
  Madam Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to commend the investment 
in this worthwhile project, and I ask that Congress continue to do its 
part to see that pharmacies remain an important component of delivering 
health care across America.

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