ACCP-PAC Election Year Outlook: Extending the Frontiers of Clinical Pharmacy through Political Advocacy

ACCP-PAC is the political voice of the clinical pharmacy discipline. It is the only federal political action committee dedicated specifically to advancing the practice of clinical pharmacists and the care of their patients. In this pivotal presidential election year, ACCP-PAC is active in its bipartisan support for members of Congress who will work to advance coverage for comprehensive clinical pharmacy services as an integrated Medicare benefit.

Through your support for ACCP-PAC, the College can attend fundraising events that provide a unique setting to educate representatives and senators about the essential work of clinical pharmacists in improving medication outcomes on behalf of patients.

ACCP-PAC recently attended an event hosted by U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-VT), who was first elected to the Senate in 2022. After the fundraising event, ACCP scheduled a productive meeting with Welch’s top health policy adviser to discuss the outlook for Medicare reform legislation in the remainder of the 118th Congress.

ACCP's Senior Director of Government Affairs, John McGlew (right) discusses Medicare payment reform efforts with Senator Welch at a 2022 Capitol Hill event.

About Senator Peter Welch

Welch has served as the representative for Vermont’s single congressional district since 2007 and comfortably won the 2022 U.S. Senate election in Vermont to succeed retiring Senator Patrick Leahy.

In the House of Representatives, Welch served on the Energy and Commerce Committee, where he was recognized as a leader on Medicare reform issues. He previously introduced the Better Care, Lower Cost Act, aimed at improving care for chronically ill Medicare beneficiaries and reforming the fee-for-service system to facilitate team-based care that helps patients achieve their clinical goals.

In 2016, Welch hosted a congressional briefing on behalf of ACCP titled “‘Getting the Medications Right’: An Essential Ingredient in Achieving the Goals of H.R. 4878 – the Medicare Better Care, Lower Cost Act.” At the briefing, ACCP arranged for a pharmacist-physician panel to travel from Vermont to present on care delivery approaches to achieving medication optimization through formalized interprofessional practice structures composed of physicians and other health professionals providing direct patient care in collaboration with clinical pharmacists. This approach is recommended to Congress as essential for “getting the medications right” for patients, particularly those with complex and/or multiple chronic conditions and care needs.

Advancing Telehealth Legislation

In 2021, Welch, together with five other representatives, introduced the Creating Opportunities Now for Necessary and Effective Care Technologies (CONNECT) for Health Act. This bipartisan and bicameral package aims to help expand access to important telehealth services that can lower health costs and make health care more efficient for patients. In introducing the legislation, Welch stated:

Underserved areas in both rural and urban communities desperately need cost-effective solutions to address the gap in health services. This bipartisan bill will bridge that gap by expanding telehealth to improve quality of care, increase access and reduce costs across America. This bill is a commonsense step to make sure that our policies keep pace with our technology.

About ACCP-PAC

ACCP’s Political Action Committee (PAC) allows the College to participate in political campaign activities that strengthen its relationships with key policymakers on Capitol Hill. Providing financial support to influential leaders helps raise the profile of clinical pharmacy and demonstrates ACCP’s ideological commitment to its core mission.

To maximize our impact, we must be strategic in targeting our limited resources on the health policy leaders best placed to advance our agenda. Here’s how ACCP’s leaders decide who should receive financial support.

Consistent with all of ACCP’s initiatives, ACCP-PAC is member driven and is managed by a Governing Council, which is responsible for decisions related to how PAC money is spent.

• ACCP-PAC is nonpartisan, committed to working with health policy leaders across all political parties and ideologies.
• ACCP-PAC supports candidates on the basis of their alignment with ACCP’s mission to advance the profession and improve human health through research, training, and education.
• ACCP-PAC strategically targets members of Congress who sit on committees with jurisdiction over health care. In the Senate, ACCP-PAC primarily supports members on the Finance Committee and the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee. In the House, ACCP-PAC focuses on those who sit on the Ways and Means Committee and the Energy and Commerce Committee.

ACCP-PAC is committed to transparency – all contributions are reported to the Federal Election Commission, and the information is available to the public.

Outlook for ACCP-PAC in 2024

Despite the well-documented political dysfunction in Washington, ongoing conversations with congressional leaders continue to demonstrate solid, fundamental support on Capitol Hill for the core policy driving ACCP’s effort to establish Medicare coverage for clinical pharmacists’ services that optimize medication use for patients.

Looking ahead to the remainder of the 118th Congress and the 2024 presidential election, ACCP has an opportunity to raise its profile on Capitol Hill by providing financial support for policymakers who work with the College to advance its issues. It is vital that ACCP provide support for its friends in Congress so that these leaders remain in Washington to advance policies that meaningfully address the health care issues the nation currently faces.

PAC contributions are a constitutionally protected part of the U.S. political system under the First Amendment’s guarantee of free speech. ACCP-PAC is the only means through which the College can provide financial support for candidates for Congress. With its almost 17,000 members, ACCP is in a position to become one of the most prominent pharmacy PACs in Washington. To do this, the College needs the widespread support of its members. If each ACCP member contributed just $25, ACCP-PAC would raise over $400,000. All ACCP members should consider contributing least $25 to ACCP-PAC. CLICK HERE to support your PAC today!