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October 8, 2007 Senator Max Baucus, Montana Dear Senator Baucus: I am writing on behalf of the 500 plus members of the Montana Pharmacy Association to express our thanks and appreciation for your introduction of S. 1951 and S. 1954 on August 2nd of this year. Each is very important right now to community pharmacies in Montana and across the entire country. Our discussions with you in the summer of 2006 have borne great fruit. We thank you once again for the time and attention you gave us then and for your continued interest in this profession and its issues. Our leadership and Executive Director, Jim Smith, met with your staff person, David Schwartz in August and were thoroughly briefed on these two bills. David has been a real resource and advocate for pharmacy these last few years and we thank him as well as you for the great commitment you have made to pharmacy. Since August we have been working with other state and national pharmacy organizations to obtain additional co-sponsors for the legislation. We were especially pleased to see Senator Tester co-sponsor them; and to see that Rep. Frank Pallone (NJ) has introduced a companion bill to S. 1951 in the House of Representatives. We hope this bodes well for passage this session of Congress. Our Association is having a Winter Continuing Education Program at Fairmont Hot Springs, January 25-27, 2008. If you or any of your staff are in the state that weekend, please come on by and let us show you our deep appreciation for your efforts on our behalf. The healthcare debate continues and the key issues are still cost, quality and access. Our community pharmacists are the most accessible healthcare providers in the country. We still have pharmacies in Baker, Troy, Chinook and many other small and medium sized Montana communities. Thanks for working with us to be sure they are treated fairly so that they can stay in business and continue serving their patients and customers. Thanks Again Senator Baucus, James P. Seifert, President |
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