FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

STATEMENT FROM NCODA’S LEGISLATIVE & POLICY ADVISORY COMMITTEE
Contact: Kevin Scorsone | NCODA Legislative & Policy Liaison
Phone: (919) 903-2057
Email: kevin.scorsone@ncoda.org
www.ncoda.org

PBM REFORM BILL MAKING STRIDES IN VIRGINIA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES         

In recent weeks, NCODA has been closely following and applauding PBM reform along with new provisions regarding patient copayments. Another important legislative opportunity has come up in the state of Virginia.

The bill HR 5801 was recently introduced in the Virginia House of Representatives and focuses on lowering patient copayments throughout the entire state. This bill would ban strong-arming policies from insurers and would focus on lowering patient out-of-pocket costs, ensuring that financial assistance would count towards health plans, and would allow all medical services to be deemed as essential benefits. NCODA believes that patients deserve quality access to care, and they shouldn’t have to choose between providing for their families and paying expensive prescription costs for life-sustaining therapies.

Legislation that puts less burden on patients will always be supported by NCODA, and we will continue to inform our membership when legislative improvements like this are introduced. We stand in stride with organizations such as the Patient Access Network (PAN) Foundation. The PAN Foundation helps underinsured people with life-threatening, chronic, and rare diseases get the medications and treatments they need by assisting with their out-of-pocket costs and advocating for improved access and affordability. They have led the charge in advocating for the passing of bills such as HR 5801 across the country.

NCODA has been at the forefront of educating oncology healthcare professionals and cancer patients about copay accumulator / maximizer programs. As a leader in this space, we were the first organization to develop and supply patient-facing education materials to our membership. More than 50,000 educational trifolds have been distributed over the past few years. In addition, we have been vocal on webinars and during round-table discussions at our international meetings regarding legislative reform that improves patient access to care. NCODA is a collaborative organization that works with all stakeholders in oncology. We will continue to educate our membership on relevant issues, including HR 5801.

 

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About NCODA

NCODA is a leading non-profit organization dedicated to empowering medically integrated oncology practices to deliver positive, patient-centered outcomes by providing leadership, expertise, quality standards, and best practices. For more information about NCODA visit www.ncoda.org or follow @NCODAorg on Twitter.