The bipartisan H.R. 3164 / S. 2426 (Main Street Pharmacy Access Act / Ensuring Community Access to Pharmacist Services Act) would enable Medicare beneficiaries to receive pharmacist-provided testing and treatment for certain common respiratory conditions such as flu and strep throat — in states that already authorize pharmacists to perform these services.

Seniors in Medicare are deprived of access to pharmacist-provided services that state laws already allow, because pharmacists are overlooked as eligible healthcare providers in the Social Security Act. This legislation is a pragmatic fix that would improve access to timely care, ease pressure on emergency rooms, urgent care clinics, and physician offices, and help prevent avoidable and costly hospitalizations.

The bill would formally recognize pharmacists as healthcare providers under Medicare for these services — a long-overdue acknowledgment of the essential role pharmacies play in their communities and a critical step toward sustaining patient access to pharmacist-provided care.

In the current Congress, 169 members of Congress — almost one-third — have cosponsored this legislation across both chambers. NACDS and the Future of Pharmacy Care Coalition support H.R. 3164 / S. 2426, along with more than 170 organizations — including rural and senior advocacy groups, patient advocacy organizations, pharmacists, health systems, and others.

Take action now. Urge your members of Congress, the committees of jurisdiction, and Congressional leadership to advance this legislation — passing it and sending it to the President's desk before the end of this Congress — so seniors can access timely, pharmacist-provided care where state law already allows it.