ACCP DC-Area Chapter Virtual Capitol Hill Advocacy Day

On March 16, 2023, ACCP’s DC-area chapter hosted its Eighth Annual Capitol Hill Lobby Day event. The DC-CCP represents members from across the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area, including the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia. This event also represented an informal “reunion” after the chapter put the traditional Lobby Day on hold during the pandemic.

The chapter’s virtual lobbying visits focused on ACCP’s efforts to integrate Medicare coverage for comprehensive clinical pharmacy services into all practice settings: ambulatory or community-based care, emergency care, acute care, long-term care, critical care, transitional care, and telehealth care. ACCP’s advocacy message highlights services delivered by pharmacists in both general and specialized direct patient care environments (e.g., primary care, internal medicine, pediatrics, and specialty/subspecialty practices). DC-CCP members helped communicate the message to Congress that pharmacists ensure optimal medication use and access to medications, health screenings, testing, and treatments in collaboration with other members of the health care team.

The chapter met in advance of the meetings to review the Capitol Hill lobbying process and discuss communication strategies. The Lobby Day itself focused on members of the Maryland congressional delegation, and meetings were held with staff from the offices of:

• Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD)
• Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD)
• Representative Jamie Raskin (D-MD-08)

ACCP shared examples from the Maryland Primary Care Program – a voluntary program involving over 470 primary care practices in every Maryland county modeled after the CMMI national Comprehensive Primary Care Plus Model (CPC+) to deliver novel models in primary care.

The meetings also provided an opportunity to highlight important telehealth advocacy efforts that remain a top priority for ACCP. The growth of telehealth services during the COVID-19 pandemic illustrated the value of telehealth long term, particularly for patients with mobility issues and those in rural and/or medically underserved areas. ACCP members urged Congress to make these public health emergency telehealth flexibilities permanent, including allowing all Medicare beneficiaries access to telehealth services and loosening the telehealth origination site requirements. To facilitate the collaboration between physicians and pharmacists providing services from two separate locations to help expand access to telehealth services, the ACCP group specifically called on Congress to enact legislation to permanently allow direct supervision to be provided virtually.

Thank You to DC-CCP!

The event was organized by Chapter President Lisa Peters, Pharm.D., BCPS, clinical specialist pharmacist at MedStar Washington Hospital Center; and President-Elect Nancy Tang, Pharm.D., BCPS, BCCCP. ACCP would like to thank all the hardworking volunteers who helped make this event a success.

Any ACCP chapter or individual member interested in visiting Washington to lobby on Capitol Hill should contact ACCP’s Washington office for help in facilitating and supporting their advocacy efforts.