LJWorld.com

U.S. Rep. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., has introduced a bill he hopes will keep giant insurance companies from squeezing the life out of small-town pharmacies.

"The pharmacy in Sedan just closed," said Moran, who spent much of Friday morning in Lawrence.

"The pharmacy in Leoti - the only pharmacy in Wichita County - didn't get paid for a single Medicare Part D prescription from January to March," he said.

"The pharmacist in St. Francis says he's giving the government until July 1 to get things straightened out or he's closing," Moran said. "And he's the only pharmacy in the county."

The bill - called the Fair and Speedy Treatment of Claims Act of 2006 - was introduced this week.

Under the bill, insurance companies would be required to pay pharmacies' claims within 14 days when electronic payments are available and 30 days when they're not.

It also would waive penalties for senior citizens who enroll in Medicare Part D after the May 15 deadline and before Jan. 1, 2007.

Moran, a member of the steering committee of the House Rural Health Care Coalition, said he asked the "No. 2 person" at the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to intervene.

"They've pretty much washed their hands of the whole thing," he said.

Kody Krien, who's owned and operated the pharmacy in St. Francis for four years, said the slow payments could break the back of many rural pharmacies.

"The profit margin is already pretty thin - it's like 2 or 3 percent," Krien said. "Then you've got all the third-party payers demanding, and now you're not getting paid for 90 days. That'll push you to the borderline of being either a break-even business or losing money.

"In the bigger cities, maybe they can make it up in volume," he said. "But we don't have volume. This is a one-hospital town of about 1,500 people in a county with about 3,000 people."

He welcomed Moran's effort. "He seems concerned," Krien said. "I've talked to the two senators - (Sam) Brownback and (Pat) Roberts - and they've not responded. They're too busy."

Moran said the rural pharmacies' plight underscores what's wrong with Washington.

"Republicans are afraid to bring up a bill about prescription drug benefits because the Democrats will play politics with the issue and try to make the Republicans look bad," he said. "And so we are with pharmacists who through no fault of their own and through government action and inaction could be forced to close."

Moran also noted he:

¢ Has filed for - but not announced his intent to seek - re-election to a sixth two-year term.

"I've paid my filing fee," he said.

¢ Welcomed news of Enron executives Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling being found guilty of looting the energy company.

"I'm outraged," he said. "Enron, WorldCom, Westar - they've all been eye-opening experiences."

¢ Bristled at Congress' being up in arms over the FBI seizing documents during a recent raid on Louisiana Congressman William Jefferson's office.

"I don't think we in Congress have any sacrosanct right to privacy," he said. "I would think that our office records are public information, and that we should be bending over backward to root out corruption."

¢ Remains interested in running for governor.

"The desire's still there," he said, noting his decision not to challenge Gov. Kathleen Sebelius was driven by his family not wanting to leave Hays.

"It was just clear to me, the timing wasn't right," he said. "But I'm homesick for Kansas."