So, what’s new in GR? Everything. (Half kidding)
Aaron and I have been working on a number of things both internally and externally as part of Shawn’s desire to be more engaged on all things policy. Continuing with our goal to do more government-driven products, we recently launched our Home Infusion Therapy Supplier (HITS) accreditation program. This is a new deemed status program that CMS teased late last year with the formal notice inviting applications in early March. Look to PD’s blog for more information on our program.
URAC is also developing a new product specific to Medicaid managed care. This program is tied to a set of federal regulations but there is an opportunity for URAC to add our own ‘spin’ to it. More to come on that in the coming months. And since we’re talking about Medicaid, GR has also been on the ground in Raleigh, North Carolina meeting with key policymakers to protect an existing revenue stream in the managed care space.
In addition, we’ve started internally organizing around how to better elevate URAC’s voice as a thought leader in pharmacy quality. The timing on this is pretty great (or bad depending on how you look at it) considering the ongoing conversation regarding the high cost of prescription drugs at both the federal and state levels. In addition to meeting with staffers of key health-related committees in both the Senate and House of Representatives earlier in the year, we’ve been much more aggressive in the states, even submitting formal testimony to defend our specialty pharmacy accreditation. (Backstory: many states have taken up legislation to regulate PBMs and most of these bills include a prohibition on a PBM’s ability to require specialty pharmacy accreditation for network contracting purposes).
Lastly, I want to invite any of you that have an interest in anything remotely healthcare/policy related to send me a note. Since Shawn has come on board, we’ve been engaging on topics that aren’t directly tied to accreditation but that offer us an opportunity to promote high-quality care and advocate for consumer protection. So, if there is anything you are really passionate about let me know~.
