Member Advocacy Still Needed during Health Care Reform Debate

In his speech to Congress and the nation last night, President Obama reiterated his commitment to achieving meaningful health care reform this year. He also outlined key principles and clarified some controversial elements of his vision for health care reform.

 

This public debate is well timed for pharmacists to weigh in. On Thursday, September 24, nearly a hundred hospital and health-system pharmacists will converge on Capitol Hill as part of ASHP’s Legislative Day. During this annual event, ASHP members from across the country meet with their Senators and Congressional representatives to educate them on the vital role of pharmacists in patient care. ASHP’s Principles for Health Care Reform and policy advocating for full health coverage is supportive of the approaches under consideration by Congress. This year, participants will be urging Congress to recognize pharmacists as non-physician providers, restore funding for second-year specialty residency programs, and authorize eligibility for the National Health Service Corps.

 

All ASHP members are urged to contact their House and Senate members to seek their support on these three issues. Nearly one thousand members contacted their Members of Congress during the August recess. However, we have reached the critical stage of the process and lawmakers still need to hear from hospital and health system pharmacists. President Obama compared this effort to the passage of Social Security in 1935 and Medicare in 1965. This opportunity does not come very often and the time for pharmacy to act is now.