State Advocacy
As the roles and responsibilities of pharmacies are directly affected by legislative decisions, LIPA works to build and maintain relationships with state policymakers.
LIPA members benefit from the association’s longstanding relationships with governmental agencies such as the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals, Department of Insurance, Louisiana Board of Pharmacy, and others. In a time of rapid change throughout the health care industry, our major focus is on continually educating these public officials on the important role that Louisiana’s independent pharmacies play in the overall health care of patients in their community.
Our Work in the Louisiana Legislature
Through our Government Affairs team, LIPA plays an active and crucial role in protecting the interests of our community pharmacies and the patients they serve. We work with legislators to craft legislation that is favorable to our membership and the health of their customers while opposing legislation designed to stifle their business and their ability to serve the patients in their community.
The association’s significant legislative accomplishments include implementation of laws governing reasonable reimbursement, MAC pricing, contract transparency, prompt payment, pharmacy audits, appeals, and recoupments. Also of note is the limit placed on community pharmacy occupational license taxes; originally billed at one-tenth of one percent of the gross annual sales of all business activity, LIPA worked to implement a cap on this tax to pharmacies of no more than $2000.