TPA Members Ask Texas Legislators to Support Pharmacy Priorities

The weather outside was frightful, but hundreds of Texas Pharmacy Association members and dozens of state legislators braved periodic power outages to gather online Tuesday for TPA's 2021 Pharmacy Day at the Capitol. The event connected Texas pharmacy professionals with state lawmakers to promote important pharmacy issues during this year's legislative session: protecting patients and pharmacists from abusive PBM practices, maintaining safe, convenient access to childhood immunizations after the COVID-19 pandemic, and increasing patients’ access to care by allowing pharmacists to "test and treat."

The virtual event began with welcomes from Governor Greg Abbott and Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick. Abbott recognized the vital role that pharmacists play on the front lines to keep Texans safe, including being at the forefront of defeating the COVID-19 pandemic and ultimately building a healthier Texas. Patrick also thanked pharmacy professionals for their important work. "During the COVID-19 pandemic, pharmacists have become increasingly vital to Texas families," Patrick said. "Your work to distribute COVID-19 vaccine and other health care solutions that Texans need every day is just one more example of how you've gone above and beyond the call of duty during this very difficult past year. Texas health care workers, including pharmacists, are proven superheroes! Thank you for all you do for all of Texas."

State Senator Charles Perry, vice chair of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee, provided an overview of health care issues during this legislative session. Perry also addressed pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), saying, “we understand the middlemen arrangements that exist, and we understand the pressures they put on independent pharmacy.” TPA CEO Debbie Garza moderated an engaging panel discussion with State Representatives Donna Howard and Trent Ashby about how pharmacists can best interact with state legislators and educate them about important pharmacy issues during the 2021 session.

After a legislative briefing from TPA's lobby team about the Association's legislative priorities, attendees attended virtual group meetings with legislators from their region of the state to educate them on the issues and explain how they impact pharmacy and patient outcomes. Although the Capitol was blanketed with white snow rather than pharmacists in white coats this year, TPA members' involvement still demonstrated that pharmacy is politically viable and a force to be reckoned with.