State updates

Drug companies continue to push for anti-compounding bills in state legislatures, and APC’s Compounding Defense Initiative continues to fight each one. They’re all basically the same: Under the guise of “patient safety,” they would either directly limit certain kinds of pharmacy compounding, or (more often) they would add unnecessary burdens and restrictions which would do zilch for patient safety, but can certainly make it harder for them to get the continuity of care they need.

Here’s the latest.

Arizona

CDI position: OPPOSE HB 4036

Arizona’s HB4036 is a cliché example of the kind of bill the drugmakers are pushing. It would put in place restrictions on pharmacy compounding, duplicate federal law, and add requirements that are, frankly, impossible for compounding pharmacists to meet. (Here’s the full text of the bill — why they had to shout is anyone’s guess.)

In an interesting move yesterday, the bill was withdrawn from the House Health & Human Services Committee and reassigned to the House International Trade committee. (Political shenanigans? More likely than you think!) The bill will get a hearing in this new committee next Wednesday.

IMPORTANT: What you can do right now

Tell your Arizona patients and providers to please take 30 seconds to send a message opposing the bill to their representatives on the International Trade committee. The link goes to our super-easy form for doing that. The committee will hear the bill next Wednesday, so get those messages sent ASAP.

Colorado

CDI position: OPPOSE SB 26-066

The latest

Kristen Youngdahl, PharmD and COO of Belmar Pharma Solutions, wrote a terrific op-ed in Colorado Politics titled “SB 26-066 will make patient care harder, not safer” where she lays out the arguments against the bill. From her pen to legislators’ ears …

IMPORTANT: What you can do right now

Tell your Colorado patients and providers to please take 30 seconds to send a message opposing the bill to their senators on the Health & Human Services committee. The link goes to our super-easy form for doing that. The committee will consider the bill on March 5, so get those messages sent ASAP.  

Indiana

CDI position: SUPPORT AS AMENDED

The latest

While we support the amended senate bill that passed (see “So what’s happening in the states?” from last week’s Compounding Connections), the Indiana House could still make changes to the bill that would harm patients. APC will be working to ensure the current version of the bill is what is ultimately passed. That said, we've heard the bill will likely have a hearing on Tuesday, February 17, and we need your help before then.

What you can do

Ask your Indiana patients and providers to take 30 seconds to send a message to their representatives asking them to support the bill as amended.  

Florida

CDI position: OPPOSE HB 877 and SB 860

The latest

(Tentative) good news: If these bills are not taken up in the next few days, they will likely die in committee. We’re still monitoring the situation closely, of course, and if the situation changes, we’ll let you know. If you have patients and providers in Florida, keep an eye on your email over the next few days in case we need to send out an urgent call to action.   

Georgia and Pennsylvania

Similar legislation is rumored to be coming in these states, but we don’t have the details yet. Once we do, we’ll determine the best next steps to take to protect patients and providers.