First, our hearts go out to the family and friends of this amazing veteran, Jerrold Park Allen, Major General, United States Air Force. He served 32 years in the Airforce and flew over 250 combat missions in the Vietnam war. Yet, he would lose his life through a preventable death due to a mail order pharmacy delay and the lack of an emergency override option. Those who serve our nation learn to fight and live through the harshest wars, but they aren't taught to navigate the obstacle courses to obtain medications due to the forcing to mail order and the lack of regulations and protections to ensure timely local access to medications. Many are suffering. This story is proof that some are senselessly losing their lives due to America's broken system.
The story read, "But when Allen went to the pharmacy, he was told the prescription was filled and would be sent to him in the mail."
"Four days later, on Dec. 11, Allen suffered a heart attack and died on Dec. 13."
The report states that the local pharmacy failed to get an emergency override after determining that a medication had already shipped. The article doesn't state if the medication was shipped from the the VA, Express Scripts, or another pharmacy.
The issue though truly starts with the forcing to mail order pharmacy and the lack of regulation or protection for the delay that required the emergency override. For some health plans, the emergency overrides to use a local pharmacy are limited to 1-2 times per year. With consistent slower USPS mail transit and drug shortages combined with the forcing or steering to one mail order pharmacy for coverage, many are needing more than 1-2 emergency overrides to use another pharmacy.
Which brings us to another problem. America is losing its safety net for mail order pharmacy delays and damaged medications.
Are legislators and regulators seeing the destruction of the safety net or local pharmacy access that we so strongly rely upon due to legislators' failures to enact legislation to stop pharmacy steering and purposeful below cost reimbursements by PBMs such as Express Scripts. Due to this, America is rapidly loosing its local pharmacies. Also, regulations for mail order pharmacies that ensure timely delivery are almost nonexistent.
Due to the monopolized industry, many communities across America are already losing this critical safety net as pharmacy deserts are increasing in the most underserved rural and urban areas in our nation putting our nation's entire public health at risk.
Veterans deserve local pharmacy access options that are always included in their coverage without the obstacle courses.
By sharing this information with your legislators, you have the power to make a life-saving difference. The lives of our veterans depend on the support for pharmacy choice and safe local pharmacy access. We also rely on State Boards of Pharmacy to have the necessary protections and rules in place to ensure the safe and timely delivery of medications. Please write your state's Board of Pharmacy and demand better protections.
Thank you for your support,
Loretta Boesing, Patient Advocate
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