Boyda working on bill to block Medicaid prescription drug cuts

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Posted by Joel Mathis July 10, 2007 at 9:12 a.m.

Boyda working on bill to block Medicaid prescription drug cuts

Here are today's headlines from the Kansas congressional delegation:Rep. Nancy Boyda (D) ![][1][(CQ.com) NCPA: Reg to Shutter Thousands of Small Pharmacies:][2] Groups representing small pharmacies reacted angrily Monday to a final rule released late Friday by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services trimming their Medicaid payments for dispensing generic drugs. "It's an abomination," said Charlie Sewell, a lobbyist with the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA), which represents some 23,000 pharmacies. He predicted that pharmacies relying on Medicaid for over 50 percent of their revenues - about 2,300 of NCPA's members - would have to close early next year because of the rule. ... Wright said House Democrat Nancy Boyda of Kansas is developing legislation to block the effects of the AMP rule. Sewell said that pharmacists also are considering legal action to block the regulation, as well as efforts on a state-by-state basis to try to boost the dispensing fees they receive. But their best chance lies in getting legislation through Congress that would change the definition of AMPs to make sure pharmacists get reimbursement levels more in line with their acquisition costs, he said.[(WIBW) Proposed Prison Museum Dubbed Pork:][3] A grassroots free-market advocacy group has arrived in Topeka hoping to draw attention to Congresswoman Nancy Boyda's $1.18 million request for a new Kansas Regional Prisons Museum. Americans for Prosperity President Tim Phillips and State Director Alan Cobb will be in front of the Lansing Correctional Facility, 301 East Kansas St. in Lansing at 2:00 p.m. Tuesday. [1]: http://ljworld.com/specials/election04/primary/boyda.jpg [2]: http://public.cq.com/docs/hb/hbnews110-000002547034.html [3]: http://www.wibw.com/home/headlines/8407867.html