Self-insured employer plans should build coverage for pharmacists' services into their standard medical benefits, the APhA said.

Otherwise, "it is difficult to sustain and scale services," the association said.

The association noted that some commercial health plans in states like Arkansas and Michigan already let pharmacists use specific billing codes to seek reimbursement for providing services such as flu vaccinations, COVID tests and strep throat tests.

Related: Drugstore disruptors? Walmart, CVS want patients to skip trips to the doctor

Pharmacists can help by educating health benefits brokers about pharmacists' services and generating reports showing how working with pharmacists improves health plans' finances and coverage quality, according to the APhA.

The association urged pharmacies to add pharmacist services coverage to their own health plans and gather data on how the pharmacist services coverage helps the plans.

The big picture: The APhA call for pharmacist care services coverage standards is an echo of efforts by other types of health care professionals, such as nurse practitioners and physician assistants, to persuade government licensing boards, health insurers and health plans to recognize their ability to provide patient services on their own.

Some "scope of practice" discussions are starting to touch on what happens when artificial intelligence-based systems provide care.

Working with more kinds of health care providers could help plans cut costs in some cases but could also lead to more providers trying to same pots of health plan benefits cash.

The APhA health plan recommendations document is also a reminder that pharmacies and pharmacists play a major role in shaping public policy throughout the country, and especially in states like Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas.

Employers want to keep pharmacists' policy-shaping muscle working on their side when benefits groups are doing things like guarding the current federal group health benefits tax exclusion from members of Congress who are looking for new sources of tax revenue.