The House Energy and Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Health on Sept. 15 held a hearing on 17 bills related to health care access and Medicare reimbursement; one of which was the NCPA priority bill H.R. 3164, the Ensuring Community Access to Pharmacist Services (ECAPS) Act. This hearing follows a markup in the House Ways and Means Committee of the bill in May 2026; in that committee the bill was referred to as the “Main Street Pharmacy Access Act.”
Anthony Pudlo, NCPA member and head of the Tennessee Pharmacists Association, testified on behalf of pharmacy and in support of ECAPS. The subcommittee chairman, Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-Va.), overall committee chairman, Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.), and Rep. Troy Carter (D-La.) all noted in their questioning of Pudlo the importance of the bill in ensuring access to care for rural seniors, and Rep. Diana Harshbarger (R-Tenn.) asked him about how the bill can reduce overall health care costs. Rep. Troy Balderson (R-Ohio) commented that greater access to test-and-treat services for seniors will help keep those patients out of the emergency room.
In case you missed it, watch the hearing here.
