Key House committee launches Investigation into impact of Postal Service changes on prescription drug deliveries

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Reps. Diana DeGette (D-CO), Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) and Anna Eshoo (D-CA) – all of whom serve as senior leaders of the House Energy and Commerce Committee – launched an investigation today into how the Trump administration's efforts to undermine the U.S. Postal Service have impacted the delivery of prescription drugs to patients throughout the U.S.

The lawmakers sent a series of letters today to some of the nation's largest pharmacies, pharmacy benefit managers and relevant trade associations requesting documents and information on how recent changes at the U.S. Post Office have affected the delivery of mail-order prescription drugs.

"We have serious concerns that the Trump Administration's restructuring efforts within USPS, occurring as the nation faces the [COVID-19] pandemic, may be leading to delivery delays of prescription medications, adversely affecting the health of millions of Americans who depend on the Postal Service to receive their medications," the lawmakers wrote. "Our concern is further heightened given that these changes began while the nation continues to endure the public health threat of COVID-19. As a result of the pandemic, mail services are even more essential as many Americans continue to follow social distancing guidelines and remain at home to mitigate the spread of the virus."

The Energy and Commerce Committee has direct oversight of the nation's health care industry, and the lawmakers noted in their letters Friday that – despite Postmaster General Louis DeJoy's announcement that he was temporarily suspending any further changes to the post office until after the election – they remained concerned about the changes already made.

"While Postmaster General DeJoy announced on August 18, 2020, that he would suspend changes to USPS until after the Presidential election on November 3, 2020, our concerns remain," the lawmakers wrote. "It is still not clear if changes already underway will be reversed, and if not, how they may still impact patients who receive their prescriptions through the mail both now through Election Day and beyond."

According the National Association of Letter Carriers, the Postal Services typically handles approximately 1.2 billion prescription drug shipments every year. That number, however, has increased significantly in recent months as the coronavirus pandemic continues. In fact, according to one recent analysis, the number of mail-order prescriptions being delivered directly to patients increased by as much as 21% in March 2020 as the coronavirus began to spread here in the U.S.

"Given the increasing reliance on mail-order prescription delivery and the critical need to ensure all patients are receiving their medications in a timely manner, we are writing to request information to better understand how the changes within the Postal Service, may have impacted delivery of prescription medications and the health and well-being of Americans," the lawmakers wrote. "These changes are particularly worrisome in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and we are interested in learning about both the impacts that have already occurred and what you anticipate happening if the changes are fully implemented after the election."

The lawmakers sent letters Friday to the following companies and trade associations as part of their inquiry: CVS Health, Express Scripts, Rite Aid, Walgreens, OptumRx, National Association of Chain Drug Stores and Pharmaceutical Care Management Association.

The lawmakers asked that each recipient provide the documents and information they requested to the committee no later than September 11, 2020.

A copy of the lawmakers' letter is available here.