Pharmacy Benefits Pharmacy Law and Career Development - First Week of May 2023

Hi there, friends! It's almost MAY, which is one of my favorite times of the year!

Speaking of favorites, let's hit the hi-lights of my 3 favorite topics for you this week, from the lands of Pharmacy Benefits, Pharmacy Law and Career Development for the first week incoming of May, 2023:

Pharmacy Benefits

• What model is best for Rx Drugs? Right now, it seems everyone is experimenting with how to pay for prescription drugs. We over at Cost Plus Drugs, use a cost plus model (obvi), but there are other models out as well. A classic is a NADAC based + dispensing fee model (brought to you by state Medicaid programs, and now moving into commercial plans), AWP based minus a dispensing fee (the old way, and unfortunately has no basis in reality vs. what pharmacies actually pay for generic drugs, or brands really). We now have subscription models for some drugs with some pharmacies (maybe great if you have a patient on a bunch of medications that also happen to be on the subscription list).
• A list of some of the different reimbursement methodologies is below for Rx Drugs - and which is 'best' depends upon whose point of view on the prescription pricing methodology is taken - the patient, the employer, the plan, or the PBM? My vote is always going to be for transparency (as abused as the word 'transparency' is used in this industry). Note I didn't include 340B - that program has its own issues and warped incentives that I just can't jam into a table right now on a weekend...

• Other items you may have missed this week - The FTC slow rolls its investigation of PBMs, do you live in a noisy state? and Drug Shortages Continue (older chemo, in particular.)
• The Team Cuban Card, week 2 - We continue to run our beta test of the Team Cuban Card - our answer to local pickup from a great resource - your local pharmacist! The list of our 'US tour' of network pharmacies is here, and yesterday's announcement is here, live from Orlando, FL. Want to check and see if we're in your city or state yet? Goto www.teamcubancard.com and find out!
• And speaking of Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company - we still have some job openings!

Pharmacy Law

• 'My Country is Not Taking Care of Me' - More on the Dobbs fallout, everyone should read this article on why it's critical to have life-saving drugs out there for abortion. Here's more on the actual case history in the courts. (BTW, is the Comstock Act next?)
• ASPL's Annual Meeting - the Education Committee at ASPL is in the throws of putting together a second to none agenda for the 2023 annual meeting to be held Nov 2-5, 2023 in San Antonio, TX. We're also trying some new sessions and programs on this year! In the meantime, learn more about our annual meeting at aspl.org.
• APhA picks a new Perm CEO.

Career Development

• Is consistency - a superpower?
• What's going on with that new thing you're trying? I keep touting to dare to try something new here in this section of the newsletter. For me, right now, that's whatnot. Last night, I did a quick pop up show and unboxed some merch for upcoming sales that I bought as a lot, and sold an item while unboxing - this was 'on the fly' selling that I had not tried before! I'm going to figure out this platform if I die trying...and I think it could be used in some cool, clever ways. Feel free to follow me over there as I fumble my way through this new thing.
• More importantly - ask yourself what you're trying out right now that's new to you or different for you. If you're not failing, you're not growing.
• Speaking of weirdness - This week, I had the opportunity to be interviewed for a new season of a TV show coming soon on - the future of work. (BTW, I 100% did not talk about my day job at all - it was more from the perspective of the future of work in general, where I pulled a lot of cards from my recovering professor deck, actually.) This is a project I was reluctant to take on, but they snagged me at questions like, "What skills do future workers need to have in order to be successful?" and "What are generational differences you've witnessed in the workforce?" Full disclosure, as Gen X, I've witnessed and taught several other generations (including my own) and there are definitely differences in philosophy on work via different generations. I'll share more as this project unfolds. But for now - dare to take on a little weirdness. It's okay!
• Patients Rising - Yours truly will be speaking at Patients Rising's even this summer! Join us in Washington DC for some disruptive talk, about disruption in pharmacy benefits. I'm super pumped to speak with this crew, because patient advocates are literally doing God's work - they speak for patients when patients cannot speak for themselves. That, to me, is caregiving at its finest!