Congress has now officially adjourned, and the House and Senate are in the midst of their annual “August recess.” This year, the summer break will last for 5 weeks, with lawmakers due back in the Capitol on September 8.

Typically, Washington sees a flurry of activity toward the end of July as Congress scrambles to complete its work before members depart. In contrast, the 113th Congress seemed determined to protect its dubious distinction as the least productive Congress in history. As of July 30, Congress had enacted only 99 substantive public laws (alongside 29 pieces of ceremonial legislation). To put this in context, this figure represents around half as many substantive bills as were passed by the 112th Congress, when lawmakers narrowly avoided a government shutdown and a national default.

This lack of activity is particularly evident in the Senate, which did not pass a single piece of appropriations legislation, despite earlier assurances from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) that June and July would be dedicated to advancing a legislative package to include these spending bills.

House Republicans pulled no punches in expressing their frustration at the Senate’s inactivity. The Republican National Committee (RNC) posted on Twitter: “The Republican House has worked to create jobs. Obstructionist @SenatorReid stands in the way. #FireReid.” The RNC noted that more than 300 House bills are waiting in the Senate, including 43 bills aimed at job creation. Democrats countered that Senate Republicans have cynically blocked legislation in the Senate to enable GOP candidates to run against a dysfunctional Congress. Because Democrats must defend 21 of the 36 Senate seats being contested, compared with 14 races for seats currently held by Republicans, Democrats will likely bear the brunt of voter frustration at the inability of this Congress to complete even routine legislative work.

In the final hours before the recess, despite a late collapse of negotiations over legislation that would provide emergency funding to address the emerging immigration crisis at the southern border with Mexico, Congress did eventually manage to deliver some meaningful legislative output before adjourning:

• A measure that would overhaul the troubled Department of Veterans Affairs, including $15 billion in emergency funding and confirmation of former Procter & Gamble executive Robert McDonald as the next Veterans Affairs secretary
• A 9-month extension that would keep the Highway Trust Fund solvent until May 2015
• Confirmation of John Tefft as ambassador to Russia

ACCP Submits Comments on Two Senate Finance Committee Initiatives

With Congress out of session until September and the November elections already looming, congressional staff acknowledge the unlikelihood of any major legislative initiatives advancing this year. But the Senate Committee on Finance is already looking ahead to the 114th Congress and has begun preliminary work on some important health care initiatives that could advance in 2015. ACCP recently provided comments on two issues under consideration.

Future of Health Care Data

Finance Committee Chairman Wyden (D-OR) and Senator Grassley (R-IA) invited health care stakeholders to provide input on ideas that will enhance the availability and utility of health care data while maintaining and strictly protecting patient privacy.

In a press release, the senators noted,

Health care–related data, specifically, is a growing but largely untapped resource for accelerating improvements in health care quality and value. This data has great potential for use by consumers who can be empowered to choose providers that best fit their specific needs; by providers who can improve and deliver higher-quality care; and by payers who can design the most efficient and effective delivery models.

Click here to read ACCP’s comments.

Chronic Illness: Addressing Patients’ Unmet Needs

On July 15, the Finance Committee held a full hearing addressing the challenges of chronic illness. In his opening statement, Chairman Wyden noted that more than two-thirds of Medicare beneficiaries are now dealing with several chronic conditions and that their care accounts for almost all—93%—of Medicare spending. Chairman Wyden went on to highlight issues that arise when patient care, particularly related to medication use, is uncoordinated, with different providers operating in silos.

Click here to read more about the Senate Committee on Finance hearing.

Click here to read ACCP’s comments submitted to the committee.

Medicare Initiative Advocacy

As a reminder, ACCP members should take advantage of the August recess to engage with their members of Congress and help generate support for our Medicare Initiative to establish a comprehensive medication management benefit under Part B of the Medicare program. Here are four things you can do to assist in this effort:

Invite your lawmakers to tour your practice setting.

Hosting a visit of your elected officials to your practice is perhaps the single most important thing you can do to help lawmakers understand what team-based, patient-centered clinical practice is all about—and to generate their support for recognition and payment for clinical pharmacists’ services.

A visit also serves as a means to establish an ongoing constructive dialogue with your congressman or senator, and their staff, on issues important to the delivery of team-based, patient-centered care.

A comprehensive guide to inviting a member of Congress to tour your practice site is available on our Legislative Action Center. If you would like to discuss the process of hosting a lawmaker at your practice site, please contact John McGlew at (202) 621-1820 or [email protected].

Schedule meetings with your members of Congress or their staff.

As the ongoing debate over Medicare physician payment reform shows, health care remains a priority on Capitol Hill. The August recess presents an ideal opportunity to schedule meetings with your elected officials to discuss your practice, your patients, and the importance of establishing a Medicare comprehensive medication management benefit. Click here to enter your zip code and obtain contact information for your elected officials.

Find and attend a town hall meeting.

To find out when and where these meetings are held, check your members’ Web sites, Facebook and Twitter accounts, and local newspapers, or directly call the offices of your elected officials. Some town hall meetings are held online or in conference calls. These town hall meetings provide an excellent forum for addressing the issue of health care delivery reform and the future of the Medicare program. Clinical pharmacists should take advantage of this opportunity to discuss ACCP’s Medicare Initiative.

Send a letter to your lawmakers.

We have prepared a letter to Congress describing our Medicare Initiative that you can review and edit. You can send this letter in just a few easy clicks, but for maximum impact, we encourage you to personalize the letter by sharing some additional information about your clinical practice and the patients you care for.

Simply click here to visit our Legislative Action Center, and follow the instructions to send your message to your representative and senators.

Your Contribution to ACCP-PAC Can Help Advance Our Medicare Coverage Initiative

The political reality is that a legislative initiative cannot move forward purely on the strength of its own merits—grassroots advocacy and financial contributions are key to demonstrating support for our initiative from elected officials’ own districts and states.

A well-funded political action committee (PAC) will give ACCP the resources it needs to support our friends on Capitol Hill. ACCP-PAC is the only political action committee dedicated to electing members of Congress who are committed to advancing our Medicare Initiative. Contributions from ACCP-PAC to members of Congress will raise our profile on Capitol Hill, improve our standing among key lawmakers, and provide unique opportunities to discuss our initiative with potential congressional champions. Our PAC will also help ensure that elected officials who support our initiative remain in office to advance the goals of the proposal in the future.

Only ACCP members are eligible to contribute to the PAC and allow us to make these vital political contributions. With more than 15,000 ACCP members, ACCP is in a position to become one of the most prominent pharmacy PACs in Washington. To do this, we need the widespread support of our membership.

If each ACCP member contributed just $25, ACCP-PAC would raise $350,000. All ACCP members should consider donating at least $25 to ACCP-PAC. CLICK HERE to support your PAC today!

Now Accepting Applications – ACCP/ASHP/VCU Pharmacy Policy Fellow Program

The Congressional Healthcare Policy Fellow Program is a collaborative effort of ACCP, the School of Pharmacy at the Medical College of Virginia/Virginia Commonwealth University, and the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists.

The program provides a unique health care policy learning experience designed to demonstrate the value of pharmacy-government interaction and to facilitate practical contributions to the effective use of scientific and pharmaceutical knowledge in government policy development. Fellows spend a month with each of the professional organizations as members of their respective government and professional affairs staff. In November of the fellow year, Fellows begin working on the staff of an individual senator or representative or a relevant congressional committee in a legislative environment requiring health care input.

The program is an enriching opportunity for the Fellow to develop legislative evaluation and policy development skills, improve research and writing skills, and integrate practical policy experience with theory. The Fellow will be expected to undertake a wide array of responsibilities that include researching and preparing briefs on health care issues; assisting with policy decisions; drafting memoranda; and planning, organizing, and carrying out program and management objectives. The congressional office (personal or committee) placement should ideally be with one of the committees that predominantly deal with health issues such as the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee and Senate Finance Committee or the House Ways and Means or Energy and Commerce committees.

Applications for 2015–2016 Pharmacy Healthcare Policy Fellow Program

Interested candidates should visit the Pharmacy Healthcare Policy Fellow Program’s Web site for more information and instruction on submitting an application.

Contact Us! For more information on any of ACCP’s advocacy efforts, please contact:

John K. McGlew
Associate Director, Government Affairs
American College of Clinical Pharmacy
1455 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Suite 400
Washington, DC 20004-1017
(202) 621-1820
[email protected]