Last Monday, Sens. Jon Tester, D-Mont., and Pat Roberts, R-Kan., introduced a companion bill to the Preserve Patient Access to Reputable DMEPOS Providers Act of 2009 (S. 956). A House version of the bill (H.R. 1970) was introduced April 2. The legislation would exempt pharmacies from having to post a $50,000 DMEPOS surety bond.
"The bond requirement should not apply to pharmacists, who are already subject to state regulations and are not associated with violations," read a statement from Bruce T. Roberts, RPh, executive vice president and CEO of the National Community Pharmacists Association. "Fourteen other medical providers are already exempted from this time-consuming and expensive requirement, and this bill would add pharmacists to that list." For more, see Bill Would Exempt Pharmacists from Surety Bond, April 13.