ACCP-PAC is the political voice of the clinical pharmacy profession. It is the only federal political action committee specifically dedicated to advancing the practice of clinical pharmacists and the care of their patients. As the November midterm congressional elections approach, ACCP-PAC has been active in its nonpartisan support for members of Congress who will work to advance coverage for clinical pharmacists’ services within the Medicare program.

Through your support for ACCP-PAC, the College can attend fundraising events to demonstrate its commitment to these important issues. Fundraisers provide a unique setting in which to educate members of Congress about the essential work of clinical pharmacists. ACCP-PAC recently participated in a fundraiser for Rep. Peter Welch (D-VT), who is running for U.S. Senate in 2022.

ACCP’s Director of Government Affairs, John McGlew (right), discusses Medicare payment reform efforts with Congressman Welch at a Capitol Hill fundraising event.

About Congressman Peter Welch (D-VT At Large)

Welch has served as the representative for Vermont’s single congressional district since 2007 and is expected to win the 2022 Senate election in Vermont to succeed retiring Sen. Patrick Leahy. Recent polling indicates that the well-known congressman holds a comfortable lead over his Republican opponent.

Welch currently sits on the Energy and Commerce Committee, where he is a leader on Medicare reform issues. In 2016, Welch and Congressman Erik Paulsen (R-MN) introduced the Better Care, Lower Cost Act, which was aimed at improving care for chronically ill Medicare beneficiaries and reforming the fee-for-service system to facilitate team-based care that helps patients achieve their clinical goals. The bill would establish a Better Care Program, offering traditional Medicare enrollees facing multiple chronic conditions the option to receive care tailored to their needs and preferences delivered by collaborative teams of health care professionals.

In 2016, Welch hosted a congressional briefing on behalf of ACCP titled “‘Getting the Medications Right’: An Essential Ingredient in Achieving the Goals of H.R. 4878 – the Medicare Better Care, Lower Cost Act.” At the briefing, ACCP arranged for a pharmacist-physician panel to travel from the congressman’s home state of Vermont to present on care delivery approaches to achieving medication optimization through formalized interprofessional practice structures composed of physicians and other health professionals providing direct patient care in collaboration with clinical pharmacists. This approach is recommended to Congress as essential for “getting the medications right” for patients, particularly those with complex and/or multiple chronic conditions and care needs.

More recently, Welch introduced the Creating Opportunities Now for Necessary and Effective Care Technologies (CONNECT) for Health Act. This bipartisan and bicameral package aims to help expand access to important telehealth services that lower health costs and make health care more efficient for patients. As stated by Welch,

Underserved areas in both rural and urban communities desperately need cost-effective solutions to address the gap in health services. This bipartisan bill will address that gap by expanding telehealth to improve quality of care, increase access, and reduce costs across America. This is a commonsense step to make sure that our policies keep pace with our technology.

About ACCP-PAC

ACCP’s Political Action Committee (PAC) allows the College to participate in political campaign activities that strengthen its relationships with key policy-makers on Capitol Hill. Providing financial support to influential leaders helps raise the profile of clinical pharmacy and demonstrates ACCP’s ideological commitment to its core mission.

To maximize its impact, ACCP must be strategic in targeting the College’s limited resources to the health policy leaders best placed to advance its agenda. Here’s how ACCP’s leaders decide who should receive financial support.

Consistent with all of ACCP’s initiatives, ACCP-PAC is member driven and managed by a Governing Council, which is responsible for decisions related to how PAC money is spent.

• ACCP-PAC is nonpartisan – ACCP is committed to working with health policy leaders across all political parties and ideologies.
• ACCP supports candidates on the basis of their alignment with ACCP’s mission to advance the profession and improve human health through research, training, and education.
• ACCP strategically targets members of Congress who sit on committees with jurisdiction over health care. In the Senate, ACCP primarily supports members on the Finance Committee and the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee. In the House, the College focuses on those who sit on the Ways and Means Committee and the Energy and Commerce Committee.
• ACCP-PAC is committed to transparency – all contributions are reported to the Federal Election Commission, and the information is available to the public.

Outlook for ACCP-PAC in 2022

Despite the well-documented political dysfunction in Washington, ACCP is confident that solid, fundamental support exists on Capitol Hill for the core policy driving the College’s effort to establish Medicare coverage for clinical pharmacists’ services that optimize medication use for patients.

The upcoming 2022 midterm elections are a clear opportunity to raise ACCP’s profile on Capitol Hill by providing financial support for policy-makers who work with the College to advance its issues. It is vital that ACCP support these friends on Capitol Hill in order to ensure leaders remain in Washington to advance policies that meaningfully address the health care issues our nation currently faces.

PAC contributions are a constitutionally protected part of the U.S. political system under the First Amendment’s guarantee of free speech. ACCP-PAC is the only means by which the College can provide financial support to candidates for Congress. With its almost 18,000 members, ACCP is in a position to become one of the most prominent pharmacy PACs in Washington. To do this, the College needs the widespread support of its membership. If each ACCP member contributed just $25, ACCP-PAC would raise almost $450,000. All ACCP members should consider contributing least $25 to ACCP-PAC. Click here to support your PAC today!