ACCP-PAC is the political voice of the clinical pharmacy profession. It is the only federal political action committee (PAC) specifically dedicated to advancing the practice of clinical pharmacists.

PACs such as ACCP-PAC are defined legally by the Federal Election Commission (FEC) as follows:

SSFs [separate segregated funds] are political committees established and administered by corporations, labor unions, membership organizations or trade associations. These committees can solicit contributions only from individuals associated with a connected or sponsoring organization.¹

About ACCP-PAC

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

To maximize its impact, the College must be strategic in targeting its 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 is managed by a Governing Council, which is responsible for decisions related to how PAC money is spent.

• ACCP-PAC is nonpartisan, committed to working with health policy leaders across all political parties and ideologies.
• ACCP-PAC 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-PAC strategically targets members of Congress who sit on committees with jurisdiction over health care. In the Senate, ACCP-PAC primarily supports members on the Finance Committee and the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee. In the House, ACCP-PAC 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 FEC, and the information is available to the public.

PAC Comparison: How Does ACCP-PAC Compare with Other PACs?

A PAC is essential for ACCP to participate effectively in the political process. Thanks to the ongoing generosity of ACCP’s members, at the end of the College’s last reporting period, ACCP-PAC had $96,900.88 cash on hand to support political candidates and finance political communications. But how does ACCP-PAC compare with other PACs across various industries?

National Political Giants

The real estate industry is currently the largest and most active political force in the country, depending on the size of their PAC. The National Beer Wholesalers Association is also a formidable political force, but lags substantially behind the realtors.

Current Cash on Hand:

• National Association of Realtors-PAC: $19,442,606.33
• National Beer Wholesalers Association-PAC: $791,742.82

Other Health Care Political Heavyweights

Unsurprisingly, the American Medical Association (AMA) remains one of the most powerful forces in domestic health care politics. However, the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) also maintains a robust and well-funded political operation. Of interest, because of the “separate segregated fund” legal status that limits solicitations to individual members, practitioner organizations like the AMA and ACCP hold a distinct fundraising advantage over business trade groups like PhRMA, whose membership is made up of corporations that cannot directly make PAC contributions.

Current Cash on Hand:

• AMA-PAC: $1,100,821.82
• AAFP-PAC: $577,355.20
• BluePAC (Blue Cross Blue Shield Association): $471,066.41
• PhRMA-PAC: $159,155.15

Other Pharmacy Groups

Compared with its pharmacy peers, ACCP-PAC holds similar cash totals. However, as the College begins to use these funds to support candidates who endorse its vision for medication optimization, it will rely on the continued support of ACCP members to replenish its reserves and ensure the PAC remains competitive.

Current Cash on Hand:

• National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS)-PAC: $175,585.16
• APhA-PAC: $153,402.33
• NCPA-PAC: $137,705.59
• ASHP-PAC: $133,692.14

Outlook for ACCP-PAC in 2023

ACCP is confident of Congress’s solid, fundamental support for the core policy driving its effort to establish Medicare coverage for comprehensive clinical pharmacy services that optimize medication use for patients.

With the 118th Congress fully underway and the 2024 presidential elections already fast-approaching, there is a clear opportunity to raise ACCP’s profile on Capitol Hill by providing financial support to policymakers who work with the College to advance its issues. ACCP must provide support for these friends on Capitol Hill to ensure leaders remain in Washington to advance policies that meaningfully address the nation’s health care issues.

PAC contributions are a constitutionally protected part of the political system under the First Amendment’s guarantee of free speech. ACCP-PAC is the only means through which the College can provide financial support for candidates for Congress. With its almost 17,000 members, ACCP is in a position to become one of the most prominent pharmacy PACs in Washington. To do so, however, ACCP needs the widespread support of its membership. If each ACCP member contributed just $50, ACCP-PAC would instantly establish itself as the most powerful pharmacy PAC in the country. All ACCP members should consider contributing least $50 to ACCP-PAC. CLICK HERE to support the PAC today!

References

1. Federal Election Commission (FEC). Political Action Committees (PACs). Available here.