OUR MISSION
Unite for Safe Medications seeks to save lives and advance patient outcomes by improving access, quality, and safety of pharmaceutical care.
WHO STARTED THE CAMPAIGN AND WHY?
Before her advocacy, Loretta Boesing worked as a hospital social worker and assisted those without health insurance coverage. Today, she has several years of experience as an advocate.
Her experience and fierce passion for improving the future of pharmaceutical care for all make her a successful and knowledgeable advocate for safe medications. Most importantly, her mission is to ensure patients have options in their coverage to access their trusted pharmacy staff and that safe access to medications is prioritized.
Unite for Safe Medications started after a series of events led up to Loretta’s child being unable to access his medications safely through the hands of the family’s trusted pharmacist. Loretta’s son is a transplant recipient whose life depends on medications every 12 hours.
As a mother, Loretta Boesing realized the importance of having the option of receiving her son’s medications the safest way after her son’s medications were delivered on a 102-degree day without protection. Soon after, her son went into transplant rejection. She vowed never to use mail order pharmacy again until it could be proven safe.
Upon researching the handling of medications, Loretta discovered an issue with the lack of rules and regulations in the handling of medications during transport to the patient’s door. Mail order pharmacy is very loosely regulated or unregulated in many areas after finding out that the FDA and state boards fail to regulate the temperatures of mail order pharmacy.
For example, there is a lack of handling requirements of medications from the mail-order pharmacy to the patient’s door. The manufacturer places safe temperature storage guidelines on the label. For most room-temperature medications that are shipped in a bag, this is 59-86 degrees. Sadly, the mail-order pharmacy is not required by the FDA or most state laws to maintain the temperatures of medications during excursions. This is true for even delicate children’s room temperature medications. As many are forced to mail-order, this is an area that must be improved in order to ensure the safety of medications.
Recently, through an employer-sponsored plan, all coverage was removed to pick up her son’s medications. She could only get his medications if delivered by mail. Again, her son’s medications were delivered in only a bag in high heat. Again, her son’s labs elevated.
Upon connecting with others, she learned that the forcing of mail-order pharmacy was happening to many. Some, like Loretta, quickly discovered there was not an “Opt-out” option of mail order pharmacy.
Loretta connected with another petitioner who has a UPS petition of over 400,000 supporters for air-conditioning in the back/storage area of the vehicle. Theresa’s husband underwent renal failure from the high temperatures in the storage area. People die yearly because vehicles are extremely hot, just like your car sitting in the sun. The back of trucks can reach over 100 degrees on an 80-90 degree day, and temperatures can soar up to 170 degrees.
Next, Loretta connected with more patients, physicians, and pharmacists who introduced her to many other issues with mail order pharmacies and pharmacies in general.
Pharmacists were quick to support her in her fight against forced mail-order pharmacy, citing many issues of having to come to the rescue of patients due to delays, lost shipments, miscommunication, no face-to-face interaction with a pharmacy that was familiar with the patient’s history, lack of temperature monitoring, and damaged shipments.
The pharmacists also informed that independent pharmacies were closing rapidly due to an unfair playing field.
Next, Loretta learned why patients are forced to mail order pharmacies. Forced mail order pharmacy occurs due to the insurance company’s pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) forcing many to use only their owned mail order pharmacy. There is about an 80% chance that a person’s PBM is CVS Caremark, Express Scripts, or Optum RX. All three frequently steer or only allow coverage for certain medications through their OWNED mail-order pharmacy. Many locally-owned pharmacists also complained about unfair reimbursements. Loretta checked her son’s medications that were sent in the mail. The PBM reimbursed its owned mail order pharmacy about $180 for a medication that out of pocket would have cost about $20. The same PBM paid her son’s regular pharmacy $24 for the exact medication.
Profits appeared to become first before what was best for the patients.
There are many issues with forced mail order pharmacies.
Most recently, Loretta connected with many chain pharmacists who have stated that the poor working conditions were causing them to leave the profession as the monopolization is leaving them with few places to work where they can practice safely. Many state that there isn’t a shortage of pharmacists. There is only a shortage of pharmacists willing to put them and their patients in harm’s way due to unsafe working conditions.
Patients have realized that many of their pharmacists are working in unsafe conditions. These issues have left patients without medications for days. Some have received the wrong medications and vaccinations due to understaffing.
As local independent pharmacies are forced to close due to their competitors overseeing their reimbursements, some chains choose to close pharmacies in poorer and already underserved urban and rural areas.
This issue is a dire issue that is harming patients and risking the public of America. As corporations continue to monopolize the industry, they become more powerful. The window of opportunity to save America’s pharmacy access and improve safe medication handling is closing.
By educating others about these issues, gathering resources, performing research, educating others, and encouraging safe access to medications, Loretta Boesing will fight hard to ensure that mail order pharmacy or corporate chain pharmacy is never forced or left as the only option of coverage for life-saving medications. Unite for safe medications will ensure that medications are properly handled and patients have options and coverage to a pharmacy staff who knows them personally, and that America’s trusted pharmacies are allowed to compete and are paid fairly.
Please click the red button below to read and sign our petition.