“The ability to get these three experts on the same panel is a testimony to the growing influence of PBA Health and the TrueCare Texas Legislative Council in the pharmacy industry,” said John Heal, Texas governmental affairs director. PBA Health CEO, Nick Smock said, “Their expertise is respected across the country and together they will provide us with the most up-to-date information about PBMs available.” Also planned will be an in-depth look at State and National politics post the 2008 election.

Pharmacists will get a chance to network with their peers and earn eight contact hours of cutting edge continuing education and see some of the most famous attractions in the country. The conference will be held at the Omni La Mansion del Rio in San Antonio.
Registration is $189 for a single registration and $349 for a double. The registration fee includes opening night cocktail reception and banquet and four CE contact hours, with breakfast, lunch and refreshments provided on the day of the CE sessions.
Hotel reservations are available for $199 per night. For reservations call 1-888-444-6664. For more information on the Winter CE Conference call PBA Health at 816-245-5700 or 800-333-8097

Texas would join states like New Jersey and New York in requiring pharmacies to produce prescription drug retail price lists under legislation being proposed by State Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston.

The lists are meant to help consumers compare the retail prices charged by pharmacies for the 150 most frequently prescribed prescription drugs.  In some other states, pharmacies must submit their lists to an agency which then posts them for comparison on state websites.

Senate Bill 146 is one of at least 10 proposals impacting pharmacy that has been pre-filed with more than a month remaining before the 81st Texas Legislature goes into session on January 13.

Under Ellis' proposal, the list would have to include the names of prescription drugs "most prescribed", the pharmacy's actual retail price for each drug at the listed dosage, the date of the most recent update to the list, and information on whether a generic is available and the price of that generic drug.

Critics say developing those lists will mean additional red-tape and consume valuable time for pharmacies, especially community pharmacies. During the last session, Rep. Dawnna Dukes, D-Austin, filed legislation that would have established a pharmacy retail price list registry but that bill didn't pass out of the Health and Human Services Committee. In some states, the retail price lists produced by each pharmacy are put into a registry where consumers could compare prices on specific prescription drugs.

New York officials, who began a similar program in 2004, claim that using the registry could save an average of $17.36 per prescription for New Yorkers out-of-pocket payments for needed medication.

”Just as in every other legislative session, there will be hundreds of bills we will be monitoring on behalf of our pharmacies”, said TrueCare lead lobbyist Robert Culley.  “It is our job to search through the many proposals and identify the good from the bad”, he said.  “Also, I am very optimistic about our chances this session.  We have done an excellent job educating legislators about the intricacies of our industry and it is now time to close the deal,” Culley added. 

“An added dimension this session will be the effects of a slowing economy,” said TrueCare legislative affairs director John Heal. “While Texas continues to weather the storm better than most other states, falling oil prices could have a big impact on state revenues. Falling revenues generally mean budget cuts and we must work hard to ensure that those cuts don’t affect us,” he said.   

Among the bills already pre-filed that mention pharmacy:
 

• HB19, by State Rep. David Leibowitz, D-San Antonio, "relates to the labeling requirements for drugs dispensed by pharmacists".
  
  
• HB 44, by Rep. Frank Corte Jr., R-San Antonio, "relates to the disclosure of information to persons obtaining emergency contraception".
  
  
• HB 70, by Rep. Ryan Guillen, D-Rio Grande City, relates to the suspension or revocation of a license, including those of a pharmacist, who has been convicted of certain criminal offenses.
  
  
• HB 97, by Rep. Fred Brown, R- Bryan, would change rules relating to the membership and operation of the Texas State Board of Pharmacy.
  
  
• SB 151, by Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, would force prescription drug manufacturers doing business in Texas to disclose the value, nature and purpose of any gift, fee, payment, subsidy or other economic benefit received in connection with detailing, promotional or other marketing
  activities.


• SB 151, by Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, would require disclosure by a pharmacy of a list of prescription drug retail prices.

TrueCare will be following these proposals over the course of this session and keeping community pharmacists updated by fax, email and through our website at  www.truecaretexas.com.

If you would like more detailed information on these Bills please go to www.house.state.tx.us and click on "Bills".  The next page that opens asks if you want to search by Bill Number, click on "Bill Number" then input the desired number (example: HB 44) into the box provided.

The narrow margin of Texas Pharmacist Chuck Hopson’s victory is another example of how one election can make a difference in independent pharmacy’s ability to get its message to the decision makers of the future. We must be ready and able to work with both political parties and with a variety of different lawmakers to ensure that our voice will be heard. Today we must decide if we want to be participants, or spectators in the legislative and regulatory arenas. Participants have a say in their destiny. Spectators watch from the sidelines and read tomorrow’s newspaper to find out what happened. We must be proactive, and not reactive.

In the past, many of you have shown a commitment to the future of pharmacy by supporting the Texas Pharmacy Survival Fund, which has been instrumental in protecting the interests of independent pharmacy. Today pharmacies continue to reap the rewards from the work of the Survival Fund as it expands its grassroots efforts to educate legislators, opinion makers and the general public on issues important to independent pharmacy. We need your help again. In January we will face another legislative session and we cannot afford to wait two months to begin getting out pharmacy’s message to new legislators and legislative leaders. There is much work to be done and pharmacy needs your help to ensure that we maintain our momentum. Our voices must be heard in Austin. Please make a contribution to the future of independent pharmacy through the Pharmacy Survival Fund. The stakes have never been so high.

Respectfully,

The TrueCare Legislative Council