We are sending this Member Alert to update you on the vote which occurred last night on the House Floor with Congressman Buddy Carter (GA) championing an Amendment to HR 3354 to preserve your patients' access to life-saving compounded medications.
First, I want to THANK YOU for your incredible efforts and your passion for your patients. We asked you to support Congressman Carter's Amendment to HR 3354, and to contact your Members of Congress to do the same with very little time to act. And, you did.
We have heard concerns about the timeline, and I want to thank those for their feedback - I am a firm believer that feedback makes us better. I want to also assure you that the House Appropriations process moves this quickly with generally only 24 hours or less notice before amendments and votes. Prior to the Member Alert that was sent, Congress was debating placing the amendment into a block of amendments that would not be voted on, as we say, "passed under voice vote" as opposed to a roll call vote. That was our hope and it just couldn't be put into the amendment packet. We understand the appropriations process is difficult to weigh-in on, but felt this was a time we wanted all members to have the ability to share their stories and work on this vote. I always hear your concerns and take them to heart, and we will do everything we can to get you the information as soon as Congress alerts us and also take additional steps to make certain that as soon as we know - you know.
In addition, please join me in thanking our champion, Congressman Buddy Carter, who heroically pushed for this amendment, as well as every Member of Congress who stood with patients and voted YES last night to protect and preserve patient access to vital medications. We knew this was going to be a tough battle, but preserving patent access to life-saving medications and therefore protecting patient safety is always worth the fight. Despite the incredibly short notice that a full roll call vote would occur, we believed it was necessary to get patients, pharmacists, and providers to weigh-in with their own personal stories. It's astounding how many called, shared their own stories, and how many Congressional offices we continue to hear from that have been moved by
these efforts.
There is still much work to be done. We must stay focused and know what now needs to be done while also recognizing those who were with us in the trenches last night with Congressman Buddy Carter leading the way, along with 140 Members of Congress standing in support, patients, providers, and pharmacists calling in the hundreds from all parts of the country, and the DQSA Coalition who worked tirelessly around the clock on this effort to visit as many offices and bring as many members to the Hill as possible. We have also increased from 18 cosponsors on HR 2871 to 26 since the amendment was announced. These are the heroes who have stood to protect patient access to life-saving medications.
Now, we must focus on our next steps and continue these efforts to preserve patient access and protect patient safety as many patients are going without their medications currently. Continue this fight to preserve patient access and safety with us; here's what we need you to do next:
(1) Click here to view the vote result details including who specifically voted for and against the amendment. Please review to see how your respective Congressional representatives voted. The positive thing about a roll call vote is that we can see who voted with us, and where we have work to do.
a. If your Member of Congress voted YES, call them, thank them, and tell them what their support means to your patients. Invite them to the DQSA Coalition briefing next week by sending this flyer! Most importantly, as you thank them, share HR 2871 with them and also ask for their support as a cosponsor.
b. If your Member of Congress voted NO, call them - ask them why they did not support patient access to vital medications and as such patient safety, share our DQSA Coalition flyer with them and invite them to our Congressional briefing, share our Congressional briefing packet (background documents, supporting documents), look at the Congressional support letters in the packet and let them know if their boss previously supported these efforts, and share your story.
(2) Get out the word about the DQSA Coalition Briefing on September 13th at noon in the House of Representatives - with this flyer. Invite Congressional Staff! Let's get them out to learn about compounding and pati
ent needs!
(3) Look at the YES votes, and let's get all 141
Members of Congress who supported Congressman Carter's Amendment
to cosponsor HR 2871!
(4) Specifically look at those Members of Congress who voted YES and are on the House Energy and Commerce (E&C) Committee and request a hearing in House E&C Committee stating that 141 Members of Congress support these efforts and it's time to bring these issues to light and address patient access concerns. The Chairman of the Health Subcommittee on E&C voted YES and showed strong support for patient access! Thank you, Chairman Burgess!
(5) Ramp up education efforts! Let's get this
Congressional briefing
packet (background documents, supporting documents) out far and wide! Let's rebut the incredibly inaccurate message that those in opposition of patient access and patient safety continued to send out last night!
(6) Review and help circulate the coming State Board of Pharmacy and State Board of Medicine letter! We are currently working on a State Board of Pharmacy and Board of Medicine Letter that will go to all States and will be shared. When it is finalized, help us get the word out and share with your state!
(7) Have patients and providers sign up for the P3 Patient Advocacy Website!
This allows us to reach so many additional individuals in actions like the vote that occurred last night! It allows patients and providers to share their own stories and to work to preserve access to their medications.
In addition to pharmacists and providers, patients also showed up in large numbers to preserve their access to medications and their choice, with their provider, in which medication is best for them.
We not only asked IACP members to take quick action yesterday, an action alert was sent to the Partnership for Personalized Prescriptions (P3) advocates comprising more than 150,000 supporters of compounded medications. Our patient advocates came out strong, calling their representatives right up until the vote.
All of these efforts make a critical difference. That's why we need our IACP members' help to encourage more people to Join P3 and to Share their Stories! So many of our own IACP members have joined the P3 effort. Share this resource with everyone in your communities - your patients, your providers, your staff, your friends and family.
PRESERVING PATIENT ACCESS IS A PATIENT SAFETY ISSUE. IT IS ABSOLUTELY VITAL THAT PATIENTS MAINTAIN ACCESS TO LIFE-SAVING COMPOUNDED MEDICATIONS UPON WHICH THEY RELY!
Thank you again, to Congressman Buddy Carter, Chairman Aderholt, Chairman Burgess, and all the Members of Congress who stood with patients last night, working tirelessly to preserve patient access to medications and support patient safety. Thank YOU for your passionate support and dedication to your patients. We cannot do this without you. IACP is dedicated to preserving patients' access to the life-saving medications upon which they rely.
This fight is not over. This is not the time to sit on the sidelines - we will learn from last night, look at the vote count, take next steps to thank those preserving patient access and educate those who voted against patients, and get back to work preserving patient access to life-saving medications, and provide patient safety.
Thank you for your support,
Cynthia Blankenship, Esq.
IACP Executive Vice President
