PLAID Day promotes student advocacy and highlights the role pharmacists can play in shaping health care policy. The event raises awareness of legislation that could expand pharmacists' scope of practice, thereby increasing access to health care, while helping students understand how advocacy can advance the pharmacy profession.

This year’s event welcomed Assemblymembers Karen McMahon and Paul A. Bologna, along with Max Medwin, deputy chief of staff for Assemblymember Crystal D. Peoples-Stokes, Dr. Keith Rowe, PAWNY associate advisor and Dr. Mary Lou Notaro, PAWNY secretary. Kelly McMahon, executive director of the Pharmacists Society of the State of New York (PSSNY), joined virtually.

“This year, SPAWNY's goals were simple: we wanted to provide our guests and fellow future pharmacists with a better understanding of the legislative issues that have been affecting New York State pharmacists,” said Sarah Dodge, PharmD ’29, SPAWNY president. “We aim to emphasize the importance of meaningful conversations between legislators, pharmacy professionals, students and association leaders to advance the future of pharmacy and ensure equitable access to health care.”

This year’s PLAID Day drew a record 265 students and three faculty members. Participants discussed PSSNY's legislative agenda for the year, which is focused on advancing the pharmacy profession and protecting patient access to health care. Key topics included protecting pharmacy access, sustaining independent pharmacies, expanding pharmacists’ scope of practice and protecting patient choice. 

Legislative priorities discussed during the event included:

• Break Up Big Health Care: Address Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBM)/Pharmacy Vertical Integration (A6546 Steck/S9222 Ryan): Addresses conflicts of interest related to PBMs and pharmacy vertical integration by promoting structural separation and fair competition. 
• Waived Tests/CLIA Testing Expansion (A3285 McDonald/S1619 Rivera): Expands pharmacist authority to perform FDA-authorized CLIA-Waived testing for conditions such as RSV, strep, HbA1c, hepatitis C and HIV.
• Treating Simple Infections After Testing (A2543 McDonald/S4501 Rivera): Authorizes trained pharmacists to initiate treatment for specified conditions following positive test results under established protocols. 
• Proposed Medicaid Professional Dispensing Fee: Would increase the Medicaid dispensing reimbursement rate from $10.18 to at least $13.71, helping sustain pharmacy access for Medicaid patients.

“It is important to SPAWNY to impress upon our colleagues the importance of pharmacists' contribution to the health care system in addition to the challenges our profession faces,” explained Dodge. “By sharing our experiences and asking meaningful questions, we hope to give legislators a closer look into the profession and encourage them to co-sponsor these laws that will impact the health and welfare of their constituents. Professional advocacy is one of the most important ways pharmacists shape the future of patient care and the profession. PLAID offers a unique opportunity to learn how policy decisions directly impact pharmacy practice, patient access to care, and the ability of pharmacists to practice at the top of their education and training.”

SPAWNY would like to thank Lauriana Beras Burgos, PharmD ’29, SPAWNY vice president and lead organizer of this year’s event, for the time and effort she dedicated to coordinating PLAID Day. Burgos worked with legislators and pharmacy professionals to organize the event and develop the program agenda, helping ensure its success.