Health care was a primary interest among voters in the 2016 and 2018 elections, as concerns about access and costs continued to grow. If you’ve been brave, or foolish, enough to follow the political campaigns underway for the 2020 election you’ve likely noticed that health care continues to be a focal point in our politics. Alongside the ongoing debate about the future of the Affordable Care Act, there has been a new development in the  debate about drug prices.

In response to voter demand, Congress and several states have begun enacting legislation and regulations to increase the oversight of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) and other actors in the pharmacy supply chain. One of the provisions promoted by a key interest group that has found its way in to several proposed bills would restrict a PBM’s ability to utilize specialty pharmacy accreditation as a quality tool to protect patients.

Given the breadth of activity at the state level, the likelihood of government activity in this area will only increase following the 2020 elections and with the potential negative impact on patients, we have decided to proactively engage federal and state policymakers in a more robust manner. To help us with this effort URAC will be working with Stateside Associates, LLC.

Stateside is one of the leading national state and local government consulting firms. They have more than thirty years of experience providing strategic insight, issue monitoring and direct advocacy in state in local governments across the country. Stateside’s health care team has worked with URAC in the past to advance quality, and they are familiar not only with URAC but also with the unique role we play in the health care delivery system.

In order to ensure accreditation continues to be a viable tool to protect patients from poor-quality care, it is important that we start now to educate policymakers on the importance of accreditation. Stateside will be working closely with us to broaden and enhance our current ability to track and engage policymakers.

We are working closely with them to evaluate the political landscape and craft an engagement plan for the coming year. To coincide with the launch of our latest version of Specialty Pharmacy and Mail-Service Pharmacy Accreditation programs, Stateside will be reaching out to staff to develop messaging that resonates with policymakers and key stakeholders.

The coming 13 months are bound to be a wild ride given the current state of politics, but one thing will remain constant – voters will continue to demand action on health care costs. This gives us an opportunity to not only defend accreditation but also to promote the important role URAC plays in improving the quality of care patients receive.

As always, if you have any questions or just want to chat politics or policy please do not hesitate to reach out to Brittany or myself!