HAHIRA – Local pharmacist and business owner Hugh Chancy of Hahira visited the White House last Wednesday, October 10, for a ceremony in the Roosevelt Room as President Trump signed legislation prohibiting “gag clauses” that can result in patients being charged higher prices for medications.

Trump Tweeted:

“we have a middleman problem.” What a great experience in the Roosevelt Room at the White House. Proud of the work of NCPA and other pharmacy organizations. Special s/o to @RepBuddyCarter, only DPh in Congress! @Commpharmacy #NCPA

This is a topic long of interest to Chancy, who has grown his business, Chancy Drugs, into a five-store operation in the area. “We base our business on trust, so basically the Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) are the middlemen,” Chancy explained. “They’re in between the plan, the pharmacy manufacturers, and us. People think we can negotiate the contracts. They give us a contract and we either take it or leave it. They put everything they can in those contracts to protect them, not the patients or providers. Prior to the President signing this into law, if we said anything to disparage the plan or patient pricing then we were in violation.”

Chancy, who is a board member of the National Community Pharmacists Association, was invited to testify to the Energy & Commerce Subcommittee is D.C. a few weeks ago and he accepted.

“I was asked to go testify and share some of my experiences and answer questions from both Republicans and Democrats,” Chancy said. “Fortunately there’s been bipartisan support. In the hearing there were six people, I was the only pharmacy represented there.”

Chancy was told by the subcommittee chairman that something was in the works and he remained on standby waiting on President Trump to sign some legislation. “I was told last Sunday that I might get asked to go to the White House for the signing,” Chancy said. “I was at the National Pharmacy Association and it was confirmed Tuesday night before the signing on Wednesday.”

Chancy said “we’ve been yelling about this for three years,” adding that to some it might not seem like a big victory. “But to us,” he said, “It is.”

According to an NBC report, President Trump signed S. 2553, the Know the Lowest Price Act of 2018, and S. 2554, the Patient Right to Know Drug Prices Act. These give pharmacists more flexibility in informing patients they could pay less out of pocket for a prescription than by using their health insurance. NCPA recently sent a letter to President Trump – and a number of community pharmacy champions, including those who sponsored and led the legislation – urging that he sign them into law.

This is a huge win for patients in terms of allowing pharmacists to openly discuss medication prices to save patient money and health care costs, something that Chancy explains has been very difficult due to constraints imposed by the Pharmacy Benefit Managers.

“Back when I first started practicing pharmacy in the late 80s we would fill prescriptions and they would file at the end of the year with their insurance companies which would send them a check. The benefit managers said they were going to change everything to online, becoming the online adjudicator giving them the power to approve or deny. They control what drugs are approved, they use to their advantage with different manufacturers. They started out being an online adjudicator but now have ability to extract money from the plan, the pharmacy and the drug manufacturer. They are not pharmacies, or insurance.”

Chancy concedes he has “been concerned” about being targeted as a result of his outspoken contention with the PBMs. “They’ll probably start doing audits on me,” Chancy said, adding that many patients believe if they say anything they might lose their insurance. “People are scared to questions their plans or coverage, afraid of being without insurance – especially if you’re a senior on a fixed income. Much of those fears are unfounded but they are unsure.”

Chancy gave Georgia Representative Buddy Carter the lion’s share of the credit for pushing the legislation. “He was instrumental in getting this bill started and is the only pharmacist in Congress. He’s worked very hard and Trump thanked him.”