Today, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) and Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) introduced the Equitable Community Access to Pharmacist Services (ECAPS) Act, bipartisan legislation that would protect seniors’ access to certain testing and treatment services provided by pharmacists.
ECAPS (H.R. 3164), introduced earlier this year in the House of Representatives by Reps. Adrian Smith (R-NE), Brad Schneider (D-IL), Diana Harshbarger (R-TN), and Doris Matsui (D-CA), has long been a priority for ASHP and our pharmacy organization partners.
Pharmacists are the most accessible healthcare providers for many of America’s seniors, with 9 in 10 Americans living within five miles of a pharmacy — yet Medicare does not recognize pharmacists as providers. ECAPS would allow pharmacists to receive payment from Medicare Part B to provide select services to seniors for conditions including the flu, RSV, and strep throat.
“We thank Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Senator Mark Warner for introducing the bipartisan ECAPS, which will ensure the nation’s seniors can access critical pharmacists’ services through the Medicare program, and we call for its swift passage,” said Tom Kraus, ASHP’s vice president of government relations.
