A North Carolina General Assembly proposal (House Bill 896) would impose a costly and unworkable mandate requiring that pharmacists be reimbursed at the same rate as doctors for performing equivalent healthcare services.
Big pharmacies would see a windfall but costs for patients would skyrocket.
The Coalition is OPPOSED to this legislation.
One of the primary benefits of expanding a pharmacist’s scope of care, as the Coalition supports, is that it would provide people with a less expensive source of care.
Mandating that a pharmacist is paid the same as a doctor would undermine those cost-saving objectives.
Moreover, different providers are reimbursed at different levels. There is no “same rate” reimbursement for all services.
Instead, the market should be allowed to dictate what pharmacists and doctors are paid for their services, and payers should have the flexibility to negotiate lower costs for consumers.
Actions related to this bill will be factored into a member’s Affordable Healthcare Grade at the close of the legislative session.
