***NEWS RELEASE***

 

 

Citizens’ Council for Health Freedom Encourages Americans to Support #PharmacyFreedom

Public Comments Taken Through Jan. 16 to Support Trump Administration’s Proposal to Allow Medicare Patients to Access Medications at the Pharmacy of their Choice

 

ST. PAUL, Minn.—Citizens’ Council for Health Freedom (CCHF, www.cchfreedom.org) is alerting Americans to support the freedom to choose their pharmacies by making a public comment by next week.

CCHF reports in “Health Freedom Minute,” the organization’s daily 60-second radio feature that educates Americans about health care’s most pressing issues, that the Trump administration has proposed to let Medicare patients with Medicare Part D drug plans obtain medications from whatever pharmacy they wish to use.

However, the highly profitable and drug-restricting Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs / “HMOs for drugs”) oppose the proposal saying the CMS proposal would “put preferred pharmacy plans at risk,” reports Politico Pulse.

“The Trump administration is making huge strides back to freedom by proposing to allow Medicare patients to access medications at the pharmacy of their choice, said CCHF president and co-founder Twila Brase. “The government should not prefer one pharmacy over the other. The National Community Pharmacists Association supports the Trump administration’s proposal because PBMs use ‘arbitrary’ reasons to ‘effectively limit competition and steer patients to PBM-affiliated pharmacies.’ Pharmacy Benefit Management companies oppose it. These PBMs, which restrict patient access to medications, say the proposal puts preferred pharmacy plans at risk. But government shouldn’t be limiting patients to someone else’s idea of a ‘preferred pharmacy.’”

The federal government is taking public comments on the proposal until 5 p.m. ET Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2018. The “Any Willing Pharmacy” language begins on page 262.

CCHF is urging those who want to protect and support #PharmacyFreedom to make a comment by writing a few simple sentences. A sample comment could read: “I support the proposed freedom to use whatever pharmacy I want to use to obtain the medication I need. Patients should not be limited to someone else’s choice of a preferred pharmacy. Thank you for taking action to restore patient freedom, pharmacy freedom and competition.”

Commenters can click here to lend their support to #PharmacyFreedom; CCHF reminds to personalize the message so it will be counted as an individual rather than a mass comment.

For more information about CCHF, visit www.cchfreedom.org, its Facebook page or its Twitter feed @CCHFreedom. Also view the media page for CCHF here. For more about CCHF’s initiative The Wedge of Health Freedom, visit www.JointheWedge.com, The Wedge Facebook page or follow The Wedge on Twitter @wedgeoffreedom.

 

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