In what was the Pachyderm Club’s inaugural Zoom meeting, Rep. Esther Helton spoke at length about two healthcare bills she plans on pushing when legislators return to Nashville. The club has been meeting in person at The Feed in recent weeks, but due to COVID issues has moved to a virtual setting.
“In the next legislative session, I plan on focusing on two primary bills,” Rep. Helton said. “The first one is the 340B Drug Discount Program.”
She told the Pachyderm Club members this is a federal program created by Congress in 1992, one that she said helps “stretch federal resources further” and forces drug manufacturers to sell drugs at lower prices to safety net providers. Some of those safety net providers include St. Jude, Erlanger, and Cempa Community Care along with others. She said this program allows these facilities to save a substantial amount of money.
She said these providers use the saved funds to invest in their other programs. She said the savings can be in the millions of dollars, and Cempa has used these savings to provide free COVID tests to the community. She said the bill “protects the integrity of the 340B program.”
“If we don’t pass this legislation, safety net providers will lose substantial dollars to provide care for patients, or be forced to close their doors,” Rep. Helton said. ”Pharmacy benefit managers currently have the power to reduce discounts, and this legislation will put a stop to that.”
“PBM’s are trying to negotiate lower reimbursement rates for providers and keep the savings for themselves,” continued Rep. Helton. “Without these drugs, HIV can come out of suppression and children with cancer can come out of remission.”
She said she expects that bill to pass through the Senate easily.
The other piece of legislature Rep. Helton will focus on is the “CNA to LPN Transition Nursing Program.” She said as a Licensed Practical Nurse, she is acutely aware of the need for more nurses in nursing homes.
“We plan to pass a resolution to create a working group to establish a straight line to the CAN LPN transition program in order to address the shortage in nursing home and other residential care settings.”
She said lawmakers and stakeholders will establish a criteria, and the group will begin to craft legislation that will try to address this issue. She told the Pachyderm Club CAN’s could have the opportunity to increase their salaries by as much as $15,000 per year by completing the program.
“A society is measured by how it cares for its elderly citizens, and I feel like this is a very vital need that needs to be addressed in the General Assembly,” Rep. Helton said.