{"bills":[{"photos":{"featured":"https://assets.causes.com/bill/photo/s1190-114/featured_ensuring-seniors-access-to-local-pharmacies-act-of-2015-1454550123.jpg","featured_large":"https://assets.causes.com/bill/photo/s1190-114/featured_large_ensuring-seniors-access-to-local-pharmacies-act-of-2015-1454550123.jpg","shareable":"https://n.causes.com/share-images/bills/s1190-114.png"},"introduced_on":"2015-05-05","title_override":"Opening Medicare's Pharmacy Network to Independent Pharmacies in Underserved Areas","summary_override":"

This bill aims to help seniors enrolled in Medicare prescription drug plans (Part D) get access to pharmacies in:

Medically underserved areas (MUAs),
Medically underserved populations (MUPs),
Or health professional shortage areas (HPSAs).

Under this bill, independent pharmacies in these areas could participate in Medicare Part D’s preferred pharmacy network — as long as they are willing to accept the terms and conditions that preferred providers operate under.

","official_title":"A bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to ensure equal access of Medicare beneficiaries to community pharmacies in underserved areas as network pharmacies under Medicare prescription drug coverage, and for other purposes.","short_title":"Ensuring Seniors Access to Local Pharmacies Act of 2015","popular_title":null,"short_summary":"Ensuring Seniors Access to Local Pharmacies Act of 2015 \n\nAmends part D (Voluntary Prescription Drug Benefit Program) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to direct any prescription drug plan that has in its network one or more pharmacies located in a health professional shortage area, in a medically underserved area, or among a medically underserved population, and that provides a reduction in coinsurance or copayments for covered part D drugs, to extend to any pharmacy located in that area, or among that population, the option to be an in-network pharmacy under terms and conditions comparable to those the plan has agreed upon with other in-network pharmacies located in the area or among that population.","summarized":true,"cost":null,"cost_commentary":"A CBO cost estimate is unavailable.","impact":"Seniors enrolled in Medicare Part D who have difficulty accessing pharmacies in the Part D network, local pharmacies that are willing to participate, and Medicare administrators. ","argument_for":"Seniors need affordable access to prescription drugs — enabling more rural pharmacies to participate in Medicare Part D’s pharmacy network will help seniors get their medications close to home at reduced prices.","argument_against":"Forcing Medicare's prescription drug plans to work with any willing pharmacy will weaken a plan's ability to get price discounts (based on promises of increased patient volume) — making it harder to negotiate the best prices with pharmacies.","bill_type":"s","published":true,"type":"FederalBill","id":"s1190-114","bill_id":"s1190-114","formal_id":"S. 1190","chamber":"senate","congress":114,"last_action_at":"2015-05-05T00:00:00.000Z","active":false,"enacted":false,"enacted_at":null,"vetoed":false,"last_vote_at":null,"debated_on":null,"congress_url":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th/senate-bill/1190","plain_text_url":"http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-114s1190is/html/BILLS-114s1190is.htm","shareable_image_url":"https://n.causes.com/share-images/bills/s1190-114.png","congress_full_text_url":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th/senate-bill/1190/text","is_current_congress":false,"last_version_on":"2015-05-05","related_bill_ids":["hr793-114"],"progress":"Introduced","house_passage_result":false,"senate_passage_result":false,"position_count":51,"committees":[{"name":"Committee on Finance","chamber":"senate","committee_id":"SSFI","subcommittee":false}],"links":{"rollCalls":"/api/roll_calls?bill_id=s1190-114","details":"/api/bills/s1190-114/details","sharingMessage":"/api/sharing_messages/s1190-114","positionsFor":"/api/bills/s1190-114/positions/for","positionsAgainst":"/api/bills/s1190-114/positions/against"},"upcoming":false,"cosponsors_count":10,"slug":"s1190-114-ensuring-seniors-access-to-local-pharmacies-act-of-2015","latest_chamber_votes_id":null,"official_url":null,"target_video":true,"following":false,"vote_count":946,"yea_vote_count":787,"nay_vote_count":158,"passed_house":false,"passed_senate":false,"vote_id":null,"my_position_id":null,"topic_ids":["health","families"],"issue_ids":["social-services","medicare-medicaid","health","families"],"sponsor_id":472}],"votes":[],"issues":[{"id":"social-services","name":"Social Services","slug":"social-services","description":"Vote on the latest federal legislation regarding Social Services. Make your voice heard about the issues you care about","page_title":"Social Services Legislation - Vote on Bills, Stay informed, Hold Your Reps Accountable","icons":{"black":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/social-services/black_social-services-1429042058.svg","grey":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/social-services/grey_social-services-1429042058.svg","white":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/social-services/white_social-services-1429042058.svg"},"cover_image_url":null,"is_following":false},{"id":"medicare-medicaid","name":"Medicare/Medicaid","slug":"medicare-medicaid","description":"Vote on the latest federal legislation regarding Medicare/Medicaid. Make your voice heard about the issues you care about.\r\n","page_title":"Medicare/Medicaid Legislation - Vote on Bills, Stay informed, Hold Your Reps Accountable","icons":{"black":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/medicare-medicaid/black_medicare-medicaid-1429042067.svg","grey":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/medicare-medicaid/grey_medicare-medicaid-1429042067.svg","white":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/medicare-medicaid/white_medicare-medicaid-1429042067.svg"},"cover_image_url":null,"is_following":false},{"id":"health","name":"Health","slug":"health","description":"Federal legislation around Health, encompassing: the Affordable Care Act, Medicare, Research into diseases (Cancer, HIV/Aids, Ebola), Drug safety, Hospital care and prescription drugs.","page_title":"Health Related US Federal legislation, including Medicare, ACA, and research - Vote on Bills, Stay informed, Hold Your Reps Accountable","icons":{"black":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/health/black_health-1429042037.svg","grey":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/health/grey_health-1429042037.svg","white":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/health/white_health-1429042037.svg"},"cover_image_url":null,"is_following":false},{"id":"families","name":"Families","slug":"families","description":"Congressional legislation related to Families encompassing a wide variety of potential subjects, including: adoption child care, child safety, domestic violence and abuse, marriage, divorce and teenage pregnancy.","page_title":"Federal legislation related to Families - Vote on Bills, Stay informed, Hold Your Reps Accountable","icons":{"black":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/families/black_families-1429042038.svg","grey":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/families/grey_families-1429042038.svg","white":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/families/white_families-1429042038.svg"},"cover_image_url":null,"is_following":false}],"users":[{"name":"Ron","vote_count":1306,"photos":{"large":"https://assets.causes.com/user/avatar/default-2.png","small":"https://assets.causes.com/user/avatar/default-2.png","tiny":"https://assets.causes.com/user/avatar/default-2.png"},"links":{"following":"/api/users/YmqaMkmB/following","followers":"/api/users/YmqaMkmB/followers"},"about_me":null,"twitter_id":null,"facebook_id":null,"youtube_id":null,"google_plus_id":null,"website":null,"slug":null,"issue_count":142,"is_following":null,"influence_score":1150,"influence_level":30,"follower_count":19,"following_count":1,"position_count":423,"id":"YmqaMkmB","partner_id":null},{"name":"mcgovea","vote_count":95,"photos":{"large":"https://graph.facebook.com/10154979506048662/picture?width=150&height=150","small":"https://graph.facebook.com/10154979506048662/picture?width=75&height=75","tiny":"https://graph.facebook.com/10154979506048662/picture?width=20&height=20","facebook":"https://graph.facebook.com/10154979506048662/picture"},"links":{"following":"/api/users/LWgQpBrm/following","followers":"/api/users/LWgQpBrm/followers"},"about_me":null,"twitter_id":null,"facebook_id":null,"youtube_id":null,"google_plus_id":null,"website":null,"slug":"mcgovea","issue_count":36,"is_following":null,"influence_score":270,"influence_level":20,"follower_count":3,"following_count":2,"position_count":19,"id":"LWgQpBrm","partner_id":null}],"bill_position":{"flagged":false,"id":"21499fda-04fd-4843-9b93-080cd15e86d4","argument_for":"Reading through the bill, I find nothing to disagree with. Rural Americans currently experience great difficulty in getting medication at a reasonable cost or convenience. This bill would reduce that difficulty. ","argument_against":null,"show_argument_for":true,"show_argument_against":false,"upvote_count":1,"upvotes_for_count":1,"upvotes_against_count":null,"has_upvoted":false,"endorsement_count":1,"links":{"self":"https://www.causes.com/positions/21499fda-04fd-4843-9b93-080cd15e86d4"},"body":"Reading through the bill, I find nothing to disagree with. Rural Americans currently experience great difficulty in getting medication at a reasonable cost or convenience. This bill would reduce that difficulty. ","stance":"yea","created_at":"2016-05-02T19:36:01.955Z","shareable_image_url":"https://n.causes.com/share-images/positions/21499fda-04fd-4843-9b93-080cd15e86d4.png","note_color":null,"note_text":null,"bill_id":"s1190-114","user_id":"YmqaMkmB","endorser_ids":["LWgQpBrm"]}}

Like Causes?

Ron

Opening Medicare's Pharmacy Network to Independent Pharmacies in Underserved Areas