Dear Colleague,
NCPA partnered with Community Care of North Carolina, a network of physicians, to form CPESN® USA almost 10 years ago. It is the first clinically integrated network of pharmacies. That's important because it allows pharmacy owners and other healthcare providers to contract together with health plans and other purchasers when healthcare quality is improved and costs are reduced.
The idea behind NCPA partnering to create CPESN was simple — Pharmacists should be paid for the services that are a separate market beyond the traditional filling and dispensing services. We also have to be paid for safely and efficiently managing the distribution of medications to patients in a clinically appropriate and cost-effective manner — those fights will continue. NCPA's top priority, "reasonable and relevant" contracts in Medicare just got signed into law by President Trump in February. We continue to focus on Medicaid reform that would pay pharmacies "cost plus" with the "plus" determined by their state's Medicaid fee for services rates. Over a dozen states have already passed legislation like this (instead of waiting for Congress to take action) and those dispensing fees are approximately $9-$14. Pharmacy owners won't get rich off those fees, but it provides desperately needed stability, transparency, and predictability.
In addition — not instead — pharmacists must be paid for our services. That's where CPESN comes in. Most independent pharmacists already provide a range of services for which they aren't being paid. There are many more they can provide to fill the gaping primary care holes that most of the country is experiencing.
CPESN has 3,500 members who have formed 44 local networks in 47 states. Most are run by volunteers who do amazing work. Others have dedicated support staffers who are focused on growing the network, getting contracts with payers, managing those contracts, and, most importantly, helping with billing so pharmacists can get paid for their work. Meanwhile, independent pharmacists in those networks can focus on serving their patients.
It's a successful model that the NCPA Board of Directors is committed to replicating — so much so that we are introducing the Network Catalyst program, aimed at helping local CPESN networks succeed. There are great examples all over the country where having dedicated support has helped yield great results, but two that stand out are in Iowa and Pennsylvania.
The CPESN Iowa network, for example, partnered with a major payer to study health outcomes of patients who receive certain services at their local independent pharmacy. Here's what they said:
"A local network program showed a statistically significant reduction in both systolic and diastolic blood pressure. At baseline 26.9 percent of patients had controlled BP as compared to 56.3 percent of patients at follow up."
You can't ask for better validation than that. A major payer telling the entire healthcare industry about the value of independent pharmacies.
Members of the Pennsylvania Pharmacists Care Network were paid $1.7 million in 2025 under a CPESN program. That's the kind of remuneration we want for all the networks. The secret to PPCN's success is a dedicated leadership team (president, COO, and director of payer engagement). Like Iowa, the dedicated staff is focused on the network development and facilitating services and payments, while pharmacists focus on delivering care for their patients and building their businesses.
The Network Catalyst Program is designed to help local networks achieve that kind of success. Under the program, local networks can apply for grants for pharmacy recruitment and retention, CPESN program performance, and payer engagement strategies. The grants will be monitored and supported with more funds as local networks meet their deliverables.
We are excited to be able to support CPESN in this way. NCPA's calling card is legislation, advocacy, and legal support of independent pharmacy. AND we support marketplace solutions like CPESN. Helping our members transform the practice of pharmacy is one of our top strategic priorities. Especially in this environment, where PBMs continue to under reimburse and patients rightfully still don't trust mail order, and the future of pharmacy — and the American healthcare system — depends on the availability and innovation of independent community pharmacies.
Sincerely,
B. Douglas Hoey, Pharmacist, MBA
NCPA CEO
