Dear Colleague,
Past NCPA/NARD President Sal D’Angelo was the first person I heard say, “Get into politics or get out of pharmacy.”
I’ve thought about Sal’s words every day this month as we’ve seen NCPA members reach out to their legislators as part of our August Month of Action.
Sal spoke those words a long time ago, and he’d had been saying them for a long time by the time I heard it for the first time. It’s still true. Our political system is more polarized than ever, but one thing remains true: pharmacists can either play the political game or find themselves gamed by politics. NCPA President Michele Belcher is leading by example.
Belcher, a pharmacy owner from Grants Pass, Ore., will end her year as president during the NCPA Annual Convention in Kansas City in October, and she is going out with a bang! Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) is Chairman of the influential Senate Finance Committee. Over the last decade, the senator has conferred with Belcher numerous times. The senator has been a driving force behind pharmacy DIR reform and last year called on CMS to review pharmacy closures over the last five years with a focus on how fees imposed by Medicare Part D plans and PBMs are driving those closures.
Last year, Sen. Wyden stopped by Belcher’s pharmacy for a milkshake from her soda fountain and to watch her immunize patients with the COVID-19 vaccination.
This year, the senator came to pharmacy owner Brian Marr’s River Road Health Mart Pharmacy in Eugene, Ore. Belcher assisted in organizing the visit and was there with Roberto Linares, part-time pharmacist from Rice’s Pharmacy in Corvallis and full-time instructor at the College of Pharmacy at Oregon State University and NCPA members and pharmacy owners Ann and John Murray. During the visit, the senator was able to see firsthand the difference that locally owned pharmacies make in the lives of citizens.
This latest visit not only included Sen. Wyden but also CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure. It goes without saying how important CMS is to community pharmacy. The group discussed the importance of small-business independent pharmacies to their communities and local economies, and the importance of preserving access for the patients they serve.
Most pharmacy visits don’t include a U.S. senator and the CMS administrator but pharmacy owners across the U.S. are hosting members of Congress as part of NCPA’s Month of Action. Educating legislators and their staff about the importance of community pharmacy—the role community pharmacies played to lead the country out of the worst of the pandemic and how important it is to support legislation and policies so they will be around in the event of another public health crisis—is crucial to the future of the profession. Thank you if you are hosting a pharmacy visit. Be sure to thank your colleagues if they are representing community pharmacy on your behalf by hosting a pharmacy visit. Sal would be proud of them.
Best,
B. Douglas Hoey, Pharmacist, MBA
NCPA CEO
P.S. This last week NCPA announced the keynote speakers for the NCPA Annual Convention—
Will Flanary (aka Dr. Glaucomflecken) and former Navy Commander, Michael Abrashoff. They are just two of the great speakers plus networking and entertainment features to help you grow your business and have a little fun. I hope to see you and members of your pharmacy team Oct 1-4 at the NCPA Annual Convention in Kansas City.
