E-Prescribing Letter to Capitol Hill

(Washington, DC)— In a strong signal of support, a broad group of consumers, employers, unions, and medical professionals have signed a letter to Congressional leaders urging passage of legislation that would require electronic prescribing (e-prescribing) in Medicare, the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA) announced today.

“This broad support for an e-prescribing requirement in Medicare underscores how important this issue is in the current Medicare debate,” said PCMA President and CEO Mark Merritt. “E-prescribing saves lives and money, and is the first step toward broader health IT reform.”

Supporters of the “Medicare Electronic Medication and Safety Protection (E-MEDS) Act of 2007″ include:

Consumer/Labor Groups
· AARP
· AFL-CIO
· Consumers Union
· National Consumers League
· National Partnership for Women & Families
· SEIU

Business/Public Purchasers
· AT&T
· Caterpillar Inc.
· Cisco Systems
· Corporate Health Care Coalition
· Dell
· The Dow Chemical Company
· EDS
· The ERISA Industry Committee
· Ford Motor Company
· General Motors Corporation
· HR Policy Association
· Information Technology Industry Council
· National Business Group on Health
· National Retail Federation
· NCR Corporation
· Oracle
· Public Sector HealthCare Roundtable
· Southeastern Michigan ePrescribing Initiative
· Texas Instruments
· UPS
· Verizon Communications
· Xerox Corporation

Prescription Drug Stakeholders
· Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA)
· Aetna
· Barr Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
· BlueCross BlueShield Association
· CIGNA
· CVS Caremark
· Coalition for a Competitive Pharmaceutical Market
· Express Scripts, Inc.
· Generic Pharmaceutical Association
· Medco Health Solutions, Inc.
· Mylan Inc.
· National Association of Chain Drug Stores
· Teva Pharmaceuticals
· United Health Group
· WellPoint

Medical Professionals
· American Medical Group Association

The bipartisan “Medicare Electronic Medication and Safety Protection (E-MEDS) Act of 2007″ would require e-prescribing in Medicare. The E-MEDS Act was introduced by Senate Finance Committee Members John Kerry (D-Mass.) and John Ensign (R-Nev.), and enjoys support from 12 additional co-sponsors, including Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), John Sununu (R-NH), Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), and Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.). Companion legislation was introduced in the House by Representatives Allyson Schwartz (D-Penn.) and Jon Porter (R-Nev.), and currently has 29 total co-sponsors.

E-Prescribing Letter to Capitol Hill

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PCMA is the national association representing America’s pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), which administer prescription drug plans for more than 210 million Americans with health coverage provided through Fortune 500 employers, health insurance plans, labor unions, and Medicare Part D.