Kaine Introduces Bipartisan Legislation to Improve Pharmacy Access for Active-Duty Servicemembers & Their Families

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senators Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, (D-VA) and Tom Cotton (R-AR) introduced the Rx Access, Choice, Cost Equity, and Supply Stability (Rx ACCESS) Act, legislation to enhance pharmacy access for active-duty servicemembers and their families. The Rx ACCESS Act would require that independent pharmacies participating in the TRICARE program be fairly reimbursed, thus ensuring that TRICARE beneficiaries have continued access to the medication they need.

"We have an obligation to our servicemembers and their families to ensure they have access to high-quality health care," said Kaine. "This bipartisan legislation is critical to ensuring active-duty military members and families can get the prescription medication they need, and I'll be working with my colleagues to get it passed."

"Our active-duty troops and their families make extraordinary sacrifices for our nation, yet they often face difficulties accessing essential prescription medications," said Cotton. "Our bill will ensure that active-duty military families can access their prescriptions at pharmacies of their choice."

The Rx ACCESS Act would:

• Require pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) to reimburse pharmacies participating in TRICARE:
  • The actual cost of the drug; or
  • The national average drug acquisition cost.
• Ensure pharmacies are paid a dispensing fee equal to the Medicaid dispensing fee.
• Direct the Comptroller General to conduct an annual audit of TRICARE PBM data related to:
  • Prescription drug reimbursement rates, and;
  • Adequacy of TRICARE retail pharmacy network access with respect to continuity of care and geographic accessibility.

The full bill text is available here.

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