Community Oncology Alliance Strongly Supports the Timely Access to Clinical Treatment (TACT) Act

Bill Puts Patients in Control of Their Treatment in the Face of PBM Abuses

WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES, June 22, 2023/EINPresswire.com/ -- The Community Oncology Alliance (COA) applauds Representatives Terri Sewell (D-AL) and Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) for supporting patients with cancer with the introduction of the Timely Access to Clinical Treatment (TACT) Act of 2023 (H.R. 4011).

The TACT Act is a patient empowerment bill that ensures patients can get their prescribed oral cancer medications in a timely manner. When a pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) requires that a patient gets their drugs from affiliated or owned mail order pharmacies but cannot supply the medication within 72 hours, the patient is allowed to obtain the medication from a pharmacy of their choice without penalty. COA strongly supports the TACT Act.

Today, patients are often at the mercy of PBMs that often own or control large parts of the drug delivery system, including the pharmacies that patients use to obtain medication. Unfortunately, patients and practices have long faced endless PBM bureaucracies and delays of weeks or months between the prescribing and delivery of medication. For patients with cancer, these delays are unacceptable and can be life-threatening.

To fix these issues, the TACT Act will:

- Require PBMs, plan sponsors, insurers, and contract pharmacies, including specialty and mail order pharmacies, to ensure that patients are able to receive their prescription medication within 72 hours of having the prescription;
- Allow patients who are not able to receive their prescription within 72 hours to receive their prescription medication from a licensed provider of their choice;
- Require that the prescription be covered under the patient’s insurance plan in accordance with their level of benefits;
- Require pharmacies receiving the prescription to confirm within 24 hours to the patient’s prescriber receipt of the prescription and the ability to fill it within the 72-hour period;
- Require that any prior authorization required by an insurer or PBM take place in such a time that the 72-hour time limit is not exceeded; and
- Ensure that pharmacies are assessed on relevant quality measures.

“The TACT Act is truly a bipartisan effort from Congress to put patients first and empower them to receive their prescriptions,” said Nicolas Ferreyros, managing director of COA. “Patients with cancer and other serious diseases should not have to face delays in receiving treatments while their condition worsens. COA applauds Representatives Sewell and Bilirakis for putting the patient back in the driver’s seat of their care.”

Earlier this month, COA advocates were in Washington in support of the TACT Act and other Congressional efforts to reform PBMs. More than 120 advocates from 31 states came together for over 200 meetings with members of Congress and their staff. COA looks forward to supporting the TACT Act and encourages all members of Congress to join Reps. Sewell and Bilirakis on the journey to protect patients with cancer.

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About the Community Oncology Alliance: The Community Oncology Alliance (COA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to advocating for community oncology practices and, most importantly, the patients they serve. For more than 20 years, COA has been the only organization dedicated solely to community oncology where the majority of Americans with cancer are treated. The mission of COA is to ensure that patients with cancer receive quality, affordable, and accessible cancer care in their own communities. More than 5,000 people in the United States are diagnosed with cancer every day and, deaths from the disease have been steadily declining due to earlier detection, diagnosis, and treatment. Learn more at www.CommunityOncology.org. Follow COA on Twitter at www.twitter.com/oncologyCOA or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/CommunityOncologyAlliance.

Drew Lovejoy
Community Oncology Alliance
info@coacancer.org