#1 THANK YOU!
#2 Great news!
Last week, I received a reply email from Governor Mike Parson's office. The Governor elects the State Board of Pharmacy, so as you are advocating in your state about this issue, please reach out to your governor. Additionally, The Governor's office has stated they are in communication with the State Board of Pharmacy about this issue. Earlier this week, I was contacted by the State Board of Pharmacy. They were wanting additional information. I gave them more information than they asked for. I am hopeful that they will take this common sense issue seriously.
#3 My concern:
I have seen in other states where the State Board of Pharmacy is pressured to rewrite the laws relating to medication storage sometimes to cater to the corporate pharmacy benefit managers and their mail order pharmacy over patients. As I'm slowly researching the laws in every state, two states that come to mind immediately are Iowa and Georgia.
Recently, Georgia's State Board of Pharmacy tried to change laws to protect citizens received push-back from companies who own and profit from mail order pharmacies. Please keep in mind retail pharmacies include our community brick and mortar pharmacies.
This quote is by David Markiewicz from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution states, "Retail pharmacists in the state say it’s only fair that the mail-order houses abide by the same rules they do and say that the rules will increase safety. Companies with mail-order pharmacy interests including CVS Health, RxDirect and Humana Pharmacy Solutions took issue with some of the regulations and wrote to the state board saying so."
I believe Georgia's regulations need to go even further and ensure that medication, like many of our adult and children's life saving medications that are supposed to be stored at room temperature also be protected from any fluctuation in temperatures. Room temperature medications, like many children's medications and some adult medications can lose potency with such a careless law in place. With the forcing of mail order pharmacy as the only option of coverage, we must demand that patients are fully protected from any loss of potency, damage, and delays during transport.
Here is a link to the Georgia law that should be changed/amended to protect even room temperature medications.
PLEASE also click the link and look below at the attempt to change/amend the law in Georgia relating to medication temperature.
Obviously, this attempt is not for the patients best interest. If a brick and mortar store allowed medications to reach temperatures up to 170 degrees or extreme freezing like the non-temperature controlled hot and freezing delivery trucks, they would face major fines by the State Board of Pharmacy. Yet, the State Boards of Pharmacies across our nation allow the PBMs such as Express Scripts, CVS, Optum RX, who often only allow coverage to their owned mail order pharmacy for certain medications, to abide by a different set of rules. It's time to level the playing field.
With your support, I hope we will not allow this to happen in Missouri and we will fight for our right to ensure safe medications throughout our country and the right to have the OPTION of picking up our medications the safest way, which is at the pharmacy at which it is filled.
https://www.myajc.com/business/pharmacists-split-new-mail-order-regulations/hZw9ODzj0sZ7m6MZLFDkQP/
I cannot say thank you enough to each and every one of you for your support! Thank you to Missouri's State Board of Pharmacy for beginning to work on this issue. Thank you to Governor Mike Parsons.I would still like to hear from my state Representative Jason Smith on the issue. I am making a list of politicians, republican/democrat who will support us in this common sense issue. Please let me know in the comments below if there is a politician that you would like to see added to this petition and I will do my best to add him/her.
I appreciate the time you take to sign the petition and spread the word about issues with mail order pharmacy!
Loretta Boesing