Dear Colleague,
Coming to you today from NCPA's Multiple Locations Conference. I just talked with one attendee who said he loves this meeting because he meets other pharmacy owners who are "figuring out ways to make it work." The resiliency and ingenuity of independent pharmacy owners are always inspiring. And it would be hard not to feel some optimism after the first PBM reform in Part D was finalized a couple of weeks ago. Our attention now turns to defining "reasonable and relevant" contracts in Part D.
In a little less than two months, NCPA members will meet in Washington for our annual Congressional Pharmacy Fly-In. It's one of the most important events on the calendar, because it's the only time of year when hundreds of independent pharmacy owners can meet directly with their federal representatives to educate them on key issues. This year, we'll be doing something we haven't had a need to do in a long time: thanking Congress.
That's right. We'll be thanking members of Congress, and I bet the experience will be as weird for them as it will be for us. There aren't many groups lining up to thank Congress for anything these days. But they came through for us. We were fortunate to have great champions on both sides of the aisle, including Rep. Buddy Carter (R-Ga.), Senate Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), and Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-Ore.). And we had strong support from the administration.
But all that support didn't just materialize this year. It was the culmination of many years of lobbying, grassroots action, pharmacy visits, public education campaigns, media interviews, and fly-in meetings. I can remember when most members of Congress couldn't spell PBM. But NCPA and our membership kept plugging away, and eventually, we broke through.
The work isn't finished, and we want Congress to know it. Last week I testified at a hearing of the House Energy and Commerce Committee Subcommittee on Health (my testimony starts at 1:06:07).
I told committee members that PBMs are systematically eradicating community pharmacies with unfair practices, like formulary manipulation, patient steering, below-cost reimbursements, and lots of other schemes that would make the mob blush. The vertical integration of PBMs, insurance companies, and corporate pharmacies must also be addressed. It creates a web of conflicts that ensures self-dealing and anticompetitive behaviors.
And of course, reforming the way community pharmacies are reimbursed in state Medicaid managed care programs remains a critical priority.
The new PBM reform is a groundbreaking first step, and we are deeply grateful to every member of Congress who voted for it. But it's not nearly enough, and we've got to keep fighting. That starts with our fly-in in April. In fact, that event creates more goodwill on Capitol Hill than anything else we do. If we're going to build on our recent success, we need a big turnout. I hope you'll be there to help us thank Congress and keep the momentum moving forward.
Best,
B. Douglas Hoey, Pharmacist, MBA
NCPA CEO
