In February, NCPA led a sign-on letter with the American Pharmacists Association, American Society of Consultant Pharmacists, National Alliance of State Pharmacy Associations, and American Society of Health-System Pharmacists calling on CMS to freeze the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation program implemented as part of the Inflation Reduction Act until the pharmacy groups can meet with CMS to share their concerns in depth and work collaboratively to identify a method that will ensure the program is workable for patients and pharmacists.
The letter referenced NCPA’s survey, conducted in January 2025, indicating that approximately 61 percent of independent pharmacists are strongly considering not stocking one or more drugs with prices negotiated under Medicare Part D, while an additional approximately 33 percent have already decided not to stock one or more of the drugs, because of cash flow problems and payment delays related to IRA implementation. This would all but guarantee that CMS’ attempt to reduce prescription drug prices will fail. In addition, the letter referenced a study NCPA recently commissioned that stated that with MDPN drugs, the average pharmacy will float the program to the tune of $11,000 per week, with an estimated annual revenue loss of approximately $43,000 per pharmacy per year. That approximately equates to the salary of one full-time pharmacy technician.
For a link to NCPA’s talking points on the MDPN, click here. For previous NCPA advocacy on the MDPN and the IRA, click here.
