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(EMAILWIRE.COM, February 02, 2010 ) Alexandria, Va. – The National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) today welcomed the Obama Administration’s proposal to extend for six months and by $25.5 billion the temporary increase in federal Medicaid assistance to the states.
NACDS advocated strongly for the initial temporary increase in the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP), which was included in 2009Â’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. NACDS also has urged for an extension of the FMAP increase, and today sent a letter to Congress.
“We believe that extending the current FMAP FMAP increases is critical to serving the healthcare needs of some of our most vulnerable citizens, and to assist states grappling with enormous budget challenges,” said NACDS President and Chief Executive Officer Steven C. Anderson, IOM, CAE, in the letter.
The proposed extension would maintain the FMAP increase, which otherwise would expire at the end of 2010, through June 2011.
In addition to its ongoing advocacy to battle additional cuts to Medicaid pharmacy services, NACDS also described elements of the PresidentÂ’s budget proposal as an opportunity for pharmacy services to shine as effective disease prevention strategies.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) budget proposal would initiate a Big Cities initiative designed to reduce the rates of morbidity and disability due to chronic diseases in up to ten of the largest US cities. NACDS is emphasizing that community pharmacyÂ’s ability to help patients take their medications correctly, also known as increasing medication adherence, can help patients manage their chronic conditions in a way that improves health and reduces long-term health costs.
A separate section of the CDC budget related to the WISEWOMAN cardiovascular disease prevention program actually cites the famed Asheville Project as an example of how medication therapy management in community pharmacies helped to reduce blood pressure, cholesterol levels and cardiovascular events. As part of the Asheville Project in North Carolina, one study involving 620 patients and 12 community and hospital pharmacy clinics over six years focused on hypertension and high cholesterol. The study found a reduction in cardiovascular events by nearly 50%, and a reduction in average cost per cardiovascular event from $14,343 to $9,931. While cardiovascular medication use increased almost 300%, savings for other medical costs exceeded the medication and program costs by nearly 13%.
In additional comments, separate from his letter to Congress about the FMAP extension, Anderson said, “There are prevention programs in this budget in which pharmacy’s role as the face of neighborhood healthcare should be recognized and tapped. The role of community pharmacy in advancing medication adherence and all of its positive results will continue to be a mantra of NACDS, because the benefits for public health are too great to overlook.”
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The National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) represents 154 traditional drug stores, supermarkets, and mass merchants with pharmacies – from regional chains with four stores to national companies. NACDS members also include more than 900 pharmacy and front-end suppliers, and over 70 international members from 24 countries. Chains operate 37,000 pharmacies, and employ more than 2.5 million employees, including 118,000 full-time pharmacists. They fill more than 2.5 billion prescriptions annually, which is more than 72 percent of annual prescriptions in the United States. The total economic impact of all retail stores with pharmacies transcends their $815 billion in annual sales. Every $1 spent in these stores creates a ripple effect of $3.82 in other industries, for a total economic impact of $3.11 trillion, equal to 26 percent of GDP. For more information about NACDS, visit www.NACDS.org.
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The National Association of Chain Drug S
Stephen E. Schatz
(703) 837-4196
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