Hundreds Attend IRA Implementation Summit; Uncertainties, Confusion and Concerns About Service Levels Underscore Dialogue

ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA / ACCESS Newswire / September 26, 2025 / On Thursday, September 25^th, the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists (ASCP) hosted a half-day summit focused on the implementation of the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) in long-term care (LTC) settings. Nearly 500 people registered for the hybrid conference and live streaming reached nearly 300. The meeting was held 98 days and 67 working days from implementation date on January 1^st, 2026.

“As we look at the implementation horizon, we thought it was imperative to bring all the players into one room for a conversation about what we know, what we don’t know, where we are and how we can work together,” said Chad Worz, PharmD, Chief Executive of ASCP. “On January 1^st, we all have a shared responsibility to ensure that no patient loses access to their medications because of IRA or Maximum Fair Price implementation. Technical hiccups cannot be allowed to impact patient care or access.”

The conversation featured seven panels highlighting the different actors in the drug supply chain, including manufacturers, payers, wholesalers, pharmacies, group purchasing organizations (GPOs), technology vendors and policymakers.

In the meeting, panels stressed:

• The large number of remaining uncertainties associated with government implementation and system readiness,

• The necessity for long-term care pharmacies to stock and dispense all medications needed by long-term care patients,

• The oversized impacted on long-term care pharmacies from the program due to serving a high-need Medicare population,

• The need for pharmacies to register with the Medicare Transaction Facilitator (MTF) Data Module (DM), as soon as possible, and

• The importance of maintaining patient access to the specialized services that long-term care pharmacies provide.

Nearly 500 people registered for the hybrid conference and live streaming reached nearly 250. The meeting was held 98 days and 67 working days from implementation date on January 1^st, 2026.

“I think that our high attendance rate is a direct result of uncertainties and confusion associated with implementation,” added Dr. Worz. “Pharmacists, pharmacies, patients and really everyone has a long of questions, many of which remain unanswered. We have to keep talking and working together to ensure there is no patient impacts on 1-1-26 and that pharmacies, especially long-term care pharmacies, can continue to operate and serve the needs of long-term care patients in facilities across the country.”

The conversations will be archived on ASCP’s website in the coming days. ASCP’s IRA resource page can be found at www.ascp.com/iraupdates.

The meeting was held at the Embassy Suites in Alexandria, VA thanks to the generous support of Managed Health Care Associates, Inc, Cencora, J&J, Innovatix, Framwork LTC, SPS Health, Pfizer, GeriMed, Axys LTC and RedSail.

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SOURCE: ASCP

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