FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Fri., April 21, 2023
CONTACT: Aly Coleman Raschid, aly@on3pr.com, 850.449.8862
STATEMENT: EMPOWER Patients Coalition on Prescription Drug Reform Act Passing House Appropriations Committee
Tallahassee, Fla. –The statement below, to be attributed to EMPOWER Patients coalition member and Executive Vice President and CEO of the Florida Pharmacy Association Helen Sairany, is being made in response to State Rep. Linda Chaney (R-St. Petersburg) HB 1509 – the “Prescription Drug Reform Act” – passing in the House Appropriations Committee.
“The EMPOWER Patients coalition is excited to see the Prescription Drug Reform Act is continuing to receive overwhelming support, particularly on the heels of SB 1550 passing unanimously in the Florida Senate earlier this week. We thank Rep. Chaney and her colleagues in the Florida House for boldly standing up to pharmacy benefit managers and fighting tirelessly for the best interests of patients, and we look forward to seeing their efforts pay off in the coming weeks,” said Sairany.
“When you break down what pharmacy benefit managers are really doing – limiting patient choice and reducing access to often lifesaving medications – the time has come to put a stop to it. It’s an honor to shepherd House Bill 1509 through the legislative process under the guidance of Governor DeSantis and strong leadership of Speaker Paul Renner, and we won’t back down from exposing and limiting these egregious practices,” said Rep. Chaney.
For more information about EMPOWER Patients, please click here.
About EMPOWER Patients
The EMPOWER Patients coalition formed in 2020 to support policies that empower patients to take back control of their health care, increase access to affordable medication, restore the patient/pharmacist relationship, and drastically scale back the role of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) in the prescription drug supply chain. EMPOWER Patients is comprised of the American Pharmacy Cooperative, Inc., Aspire Health Pharmacy Services, Florida Independent Pharmacy Network, Florida Pharmacy Association, National Community Pharmacists Association, Pharmacy Provider Services Corporation, Walgreens, and hundreds of patients and independent and community pharmacists and pharmacies across Florida.
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