Yesterday, NCPA submitted a stern warning to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services that more than 90 percent of independent pharmacies may decide, or have already decided, to not stock drugs in the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program because of the massive financial losses the program will cause. NCPA's comments cited a recent national survey of independent pharmacists that found 93.2 percent of respondents have either decided not to stock the drugs covered by the MDPN program or are considering not stocking them.
"Pharmacies will have to float thousands of dollars every month waiting for refunds from the manufacturers. That will cause a massive cash flow problem in an environment where thousands of pharmacies have already closed," said NCPA CEO Douglas Hoey.
NCPA suggested CMS make several changes to the program to make the program work and prevent the disappearance of many more pharmacies. You can read our full press release here.
