NCPA 2025-2026 President Kristen Riddle delivered the final remarks of her term at the First General Session of the Annual Convention, sponsored by Anda Inc., reflecting on a year in which great strides were made toward reforms to make the health care system fairer to the independent pharmacies caring for communities across the country.
She said that the legislation that required CMS to establish and enforce standards for reasonable and relevant Medicare Part D contract terms was substantive and meaningful, but noted that the agency still had to act.
“They must stop the elastic language that PBMs can stretch and twist into whatever they want. Stop the one-sided terms. Stop the hide-and-seek,” she said.
Further, she recognized progress on Capitol Hill on the Main Street Pharmacy Access Act, which would allow Medicare to cover and reimburse testing and treatment for certain respiratory illnesses in states that have authorized pharmacists to deliver them.
Riddle also gave a shoutout to the states for the hard-fought wins achieved by those associations, recalling that it was under her presidency of the Arkansas Pharmacists Association that Arkansas won a Supreme Court case that allowed states to regulate PBMs, and that the same association had pushed through first-of-its-kind legislation banning insurance companies from owning both a PBM and pharmacy simultaneously in the state.
She hailed the passage this year of a similar law in Tennessee, and another in Louisiana that requires pharmacies to be reimbursed at NADAC plus $11.81 in the commercial reimbursement.
From there, she turned to many opportunities she had over the year to meet with some of the biggest decision makers in Congress as well as the current and future leaders of independent pharmacy.
“Everywhere I went, I saw the same energy and determination: pharmacists, students, educators, and advocates working to strengthen our profession and serve patients better,” she reflected.
Riddle thanked her family and colleagues for supporting her through a whirlwind year. She also gave kudos to NCPA President-Elect Christian Tadrus, who she said “brings technical expertise, imagination, and commitment to the job,” as well as her fellow board members, who she’ll miss working with.
Acknowledging that it is extremely difficult to hear when a generational family pharmacy closes its doors, and that it happens far too often, Riddle was confident that the future for independent pharmacy is bright and that the fight isn’t over.
“I’m excited about what comes next — especially the emerging technologies that can make independent pharmacy stronger, help us serve patients even better, and reinforce our essential role in the nation’s healthcare system,” she said. “The future will bring change, but independent community pharmacists have always known how to adapt, innovate, and lead.”
