US Senate vote for S3101 not enough

The US Senate voted 54 to 39 in favor of S 3101, the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008. However, that did not achieve the 60 votes needed for cloture. The bill includes pharmacy-related provisions that provide prompt payment of Medicare Part D prescription drug claims and delay the implementation of Medicaid reimbursement cuts for generic prescription medicines.

In response, Bruce Roberts, executive vice president and chief executive of the National Community Pharmacists Association, issued the following statement: "while S3101, the health care bill championed by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (Democrat, Montana) and a majority of the US Senate, did not achieve cloture today, America's 23,000 community pharmacies remain committed to ensuring patients have access to prescription drug services. That outcome can only be achieved by including provisions to speed up the painfully slow payment of Medicare Part D claims and delay utilizing a formula designed to drastically cut reimbursements for Medicaid generic prescription drugs."

He continued by noting that the vote is just the first step in a process that needs to culminate with a health care package which Congress must pass by July 1. "We urge Congress, as it takes the next step, to make sure the pharmacy provisions are included. It is our members' intention to continue weighing in on this critical debate that will literally determine the fate of patients' access to community pharmacies," he warned.