High-risk Covid-19 patients could see reduced access to Pfizer and Merck’s antiviral pills without a federal mandate that insurers pay pharmacies for dispensing the medications, industry groups and analysts say. Pharmacy groups argue the Medicare agency should require minimum insurance payments for the tasks involved with distributing the at-home treatments, including conducting risk assessments and educating prescribers. Adequate payment is especially needed for small, independent pharmacies already struggling to meet testing and vaccination demands, but some health plans are doling out as little as $1, they say. Pharmacists are getting “slapped in the face with really ridiculous payment rates,” said Kurt Proctor, senior vice president of strategic initiatives at the National Community Pharmacists Association. But they’re trying to “do everything [...]

Relentless pressure, extra tasks, and depleted ranks lead to widespread burnout.   Jennifer Morrow says she first considered quitting her job as a pharmacist at a CVS drugstore near Binghamton, N.Y., last October after she was assigned to fill in at a store she’d rarely worked in. When she arrived, she discovered she’d be the only pharmacist on the job all day—with no technician or cashier to help, either. The pandemic was raging. The phones were ringing, and prescriptions quickly backed up as she turned her attention to giving Covid-19 vaccinations and flu shots. By 4 p.m., she was hours behind schedule. Overwhelmed, exhausted, and worried she’d make a mistake filling a prescription, she closed the pharmacy early, forcing customers to [...]

The Supreme Court on Thursday stopped the Biden administration’s vaccination-or-testing requirement for the nation’s largest employers, a dramatic blow to the federal government’s most far-reaching initiative to combat the coronavirus and boost the country’s lagging vaccination rate. But the court allowed a different and smaller policy to go forward, requiring vaccinations for most health-care workers at the facilities that receive Medicaid and Medicare funds. The court has been supportive of state requirements targeting the pandemic but skeptical of broad federal responses. All six of the court’s conservatives said Congress had not given the Occupational Safety and Health Administration power to impose such a sweeping requirement in workplaces across the nation. But Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh joined the court’s three [...]

PSI Insurance Agency, an affiliate of the Michigan Pharmacists Association (MPA), recently finalized the acquisition of Mid Michigan Insurance Group (MMIG), a Lansing-based company, which will relocate to PSI Insurance Agency’s office at MPA headquarters in January 2022. Under the terms of the acquisition, former MMIG Owner Scott Harris, CPIA, LUTCF, and Dave Spoelman, sales manager, will now work for PSI Insurance Agency, maintaining their existing clientele, while also expanding services to include Auto Owners Insurance and Michigan Insurance Company. PSI Insurance Agency Director Ron Devers, CIC, CPIA, CAWC – ranked 19th in the nation for life insurance sales out of over 30,000 Auto Owners agents – said PSI Insurance Agency is stronger than ever today, especially with the development [...]

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended Thursday that people receive COVID-19 vaccines and boosters from Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna, instead of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine, citing the increased risk of potentially fatal blood clots for some people. CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, MD, signed off on the policy just hours after a unanimous vote on the recommendation from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. "Today's updated recommendation emphasizes CDC's commitment to provide real-time scientific information to the American public," Walensky said, urging everyone to get vaccinated and booster doses. Data show there have been nine deaths — among seven women and two men — confirmed in connection with the blood clot issue through September. Seven of the individuals [...]