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Fourth Time’s the Charm? How COVID-19 May Spur Congress to Pass Legislation Expanding Coverage for Pharmacist Services Wednesday, May 12, 2021
On April 22, 2021, Reps. G.K. Butterfield (D-NC) and David McKinley (R-WV), along with 22 co-sponsors from both major parties, introduced H.R. 2759, “A Bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for coverage under the Medicare program of pharmacist services.” The bill which marks Congress’s fourth attempt to enact the Pharmacy and Medically Underserved Areas Enhancement Act (PMUAEA) would allow Medicare to directly reimburse pharmacists for delivering certain Medicare Part B services to Medicare beneficiaries living in medically underserved areas, or MUAs. In other words, by guaranteeing Medicare reimbursement to pharmacists who administer select primary care services to Medicare beneficiaries in regions with limited access to primary medical care, the PMUAEA aims to expand pharmacy se
Active infections decreased to 1,100 as the state reported an additional 236 people recovered from COVID-19
The number of people in state hospital beds with COVID-19 fell to 66. Of those, 21 were receiving intensive care and 15 were on ventilators. Out of the 123,435 people in the state who have tested positive, about 6% have received hospital care.
A total of 335,301 people in the state have received at least one COVID-19 vaccine through the South Dakota Department of Health s immunization program and the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program. That number does not include immunizations through Indian Health Service or Veterans Affairs.
Albertsons noted that it has continued to receive a steady supply of vaccines. The company participates as a national partner in the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program for COVID-19 Vaccination, which allocates immunizations directly to pharmacy partners.
“We are committed to offering convenient and easy-to-access vaccination solutions for our customers,” Omer Gajial, senior vice president of pharmacy and health at Albertsons Cos., said in a statement. “As COVID-19 vaccine supply has improved, we are enabling walk-in vaccination solutions available across all our pharmacies.”
Albertsons Cos. reported that its pharmacies have administered more than 4 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine to date. The grocer administered its first COVID vaccine doses, from Pfizer/BioNTech, in mid-December at a clinic in Alaska run by Carrs/Safeway pharmacists, and the retailer’s pharmacy teams topped the 1 million mark in COVID-19 vaccines administered in early March.