ASHP Seeks Legislative Fix for Second-Year Residency Funding Cut
10/15/2008
ASHP is looking to Congress to restore funding for postgraduate year-two specialty pharmacy residency programs and has drafted proposed legislation for introduction either later this year or in 2009.
The Society worked with legislative council to draft the “Medicare Specialized Pharmacy and Health care Improvement Act of 2008.” The bill seeks to amend the Social Security Act to restore reasonable cost pass-through payments for second-year, specialized pharmacy residency programs under Medicare.
Senator Tim Johnson (D.-S.D.) has signed on as the bill’s chief sponsor. ASHP is pursuing a Republican cosponsor for the measure, preferably a member of the Senate Finance Committee.
Funding for second-year specialty programs was cut by the Centers for Medicaid & Medicare Services (CMS) in 2004. At the time, CMS left the door open to restore the funding if hospitals could demonstrate that completion of second-year, specialized residencies before beginning work in these specialties met the definition of “industry norm.” Although surveys conducted by ASHP showed that more than 80 percent of hospitals that employ clinical pharmacy specialists prefer candidates with PGY2 training, the agency has consistently rejected the Society’s request to restore funding.
Watch ashp.org for updates on the search for a cosponsor and the bill’s introduction.
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