August Greetings MPhA!
I hope you are all savoring the end of summer and looking forward to the start of the Great MN Get-Together tomorrow! (Assuming that you are into the deep-fried fun and endless people/animal watching…I have yet to meet very many Minnesotans that aren’t!). Anyhow, it’s hard to believe that I have already been on rotation with MPhA for three-and-a-half weeks!
Over the past few weeks I’ve been lucky enough to participate in several interesting meetings and conference calls with MPhA Executive VP Julie Johnson. My favorite thus far has been the Quarterly Public Policy Pace/McKesson Call. During this call, representatives of McKesson’s Public Policy team spoke with pharmacy association leaders from Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and of course, Minnesota! The purpose of the meeting was three-fold: (1) It allowed us at MPhA (and the other pharmacy associations) to hear from one of McKesson’s regional Public Policy Team Directors on state and national legislative issues that directly affect pharmacy (2) It allowed McKesson to hear about the policy work being done by the various pharmacy associations, and (3) It allowed the associations to share with each other policy updates, success stories, and challenges being faced in their respective states. McKesson, being the largest pharmaceutical distributor in North America, as well as a significant provider of Health IT services, is often involved in the similar policy-related efforts as the pharmacy associations. Communicating with their policy leaders can often strengthen the efforts of the pharmacy associations, and provide useful insight for policy development and legislative advocacy on behalf of the profession.
You may be wondering, what were some of the policy issues discussed at the meeting? One of the big topics was the expansion of Medicaid services, and the development of insurance exchanges and information exchanges under the PPACA. It was interesting to hear how different states are handling these issues, and how for the most part, many are waiting to see what happens this November at the polls before moving forward on these issues. I am very curious to see how pharmacy can be involved particularly in the information exchanges, as I believe health care providers everywhere, including pharmacists in all practice sites, need better access to patients’ comprehensive medical histories in order to make the best therapy decisions.
Did you know that in MN, Governor Dayton has put together a MN Health Reform Task Force to tackle these issues, as well as several Work Groups that have been meeting regularly for the past year? These meetings are all open to the public. If you are interested in learning more, take a look at this schedule: http://mn.gov/health-reform/images/Proposed-Meeting-Schedule-2012-07-31a.pdf. I’m looking forward to the Access meeting in St. Paul next week!
On another policy-related note, did you know that the MN State Legislature might be meeting for a special session this Friday? If the Governor approves the special session, I’ll be attending with MPhA’s state capitol representative Matt Lemke, and I’ll make sure to tell you all about it!
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