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By Steve Anderson, President, CEO National Association of Chain Drug Stores
NACDS envisions 2025 as a breakthrough year for the advancement of pharmacy’s innovation and viability — for the benefit of all Americans. The association remains committed to marshaling the full measure of knowledge, authority, collaboration, power, creativity and zeal that this noble purpose demands.
NACDS events as innovation laboratories
Any discussion of industry innovation and NACDS’ vigorous pursuit of it starts with the NACDS Regional Chain Conference, NACDS Annual Meeting and NACDS Total Store Expo. These events are about more than buying and selling today. They are about testing, improving and advancing ideas to create the future. They create laboratories for innovation in products and services, and in bringing them to market.
Participants know that these events fuel innovation and progress for the entire industry — retailers and suppliers alike.
Last year, Association Conventions & Facilities magazine featured NACDS meetings and conferences in an article, “Trade Shows That Sparkle with Engagement.” It said that while attendees define health and wellness differently, they all choose to write their future at NACDS venues.
One unmistakable dynamic of NACDS events in the past three years is the increase in new participants. The “first-timer” programs at these meetings and conferences brim with attendees, excitement and potential for success.
If a Chain Drug Review reader is curious about making these events work for them, they should be in touch with us. NACDS is committed to the success of retailers and suppliers, and the NACDS membership and staff stand ready to live up to that commitment.
Innovation through public policy and programming
Polling commissioned by NACDS finds consistently that pharmacies rank as the most accessible health care destinations, and that Americans value — and expect advancement in — pharmacists’ roles in health care delivery.
“Pharmacies. The face of neighborhood health care.” is more than NACDS’ slogan. It is more of a reality and an expectation today than it was two decades ago, and it is a promise of what can be.
Necessity often is the mother of invention, and the recent public health emergency proved to be just that. Most states now have taken at least some action to update their laws to make permanent aspects of the pharmacy access expansions put into place on an emergency basis in 2020 and 2021. In 2024 alone, 27 states enacted 48 bills, creating 120 policy changes that align with NACDS priorities.
Morning Consult polling commissioned by NACDS found that more than eight in 10 American adults believe it is important for their state to update their laws in this way. This is something on which Republicans and Democrats agree.
Meanwhile, federally, NACDS and the Future of Pharmacy Care Coalition are advocating for the Equitable Community Access to Pharmacy Services Act in the 118th Congress (2023-2024) — to ensure seniors in Medicare have access to state-approved pharmacist services. Nearly one-third of Congress cosponsored the bill. NACDS and the coalition continue to advocate for this bill in 2024 as of the writing of the article, and continue to prepare for 2025 as necessary.
Even as NACDS advances these issues, NACDS also is pushing forward in groundbreaking ways to keep Americans healthy. In 2022, NACDS launched what now is known as the NACDS Health and Wellness Innovation Initiative. The progress has been rapid and far reaching.
For example, NACDS is identifying and pursuing opportunities to leverage the accessibility and trust of pharmacies and pharmacists to help Food Is Medicine programs work for Americans’ health and wellness. The prestigious Milken Institute released an Action Plan titled “Catalyzing Action for Pharmacist-Provided Food Is Medicine Care,” and NACDS is magnifying the reach of actionable steps that public and private stakeholders can take to leverage pharmacist-provided Food Is Medicine care.
Also, NACDS launched with members and national partners the Nourish My Health national public education campaign that highlights the connection between food and health. The campaign has achieved over 400 million impressions in its first year, and this ever-building movement is poised for continued impact into 2025 and beyond.
The NACDS Health and Wellness Innovation Initiative also includes a concerted focus on integrating pharmacy care into value-based models, and supporting interoperability and technology solutions to advance payment for pharmacy services.
Experts of diverse political persuasions acknowledge that the U.S. spends more on health care than any other high-income country, yet experiences the worst health outcomes. There is growing recognition that more focus is needed on keeping Americans healthy, in addition to treating them when they are ill.
I have been urging people to read Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity by Dr. Peter Attia. He describes the “four horsemen of chronic disease” — which claim the lives of 80% of the population: cardiovascular disease, cancer, neurodegenerative disease and metabolic disease. Poor nutrition is a major risk factor for all of these.
Early indicators suggest a significant interest by the Trump administration in pursuing topics like this, and NACDS will ensure pharmacy is integral to this work.
Protecting access with PBM reform
When this article is published on January 6, we will know whether the U.S. Congress advanced aspects of PBM reform or whether this issue remains on the front burner for the 119th Congress. NACDS and pharmacy coalition members remain united on what constitutes meaningful reform. We have achieved consensus among Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill on reforms that align well with pharmacy’s priorities. The limiting factor is the ability of Congress to agree on issues beyond PBM reform and on a legislative vehicle that can carry PBM reform.
NACDS is making it clear that the need for comprehensive PBM reform is dire. A Morning Consult poll commissioned by NACDS in October found that more than two-thirds of voters agree that Congress should consider PBM reform to be “must-pass legislation” before concluding its work in 2024. Seven in 10 voters say that if it is not enacted in 2024 it should be considered a top priority in 2025.
The poll also found that nearly nine in 10 voters said each of the following health care-related issues was important to their vote: prescription drug prices; access to health care; affordability of health care; and ability of patients to choose their health care providers. That is PBM reform.
In addition to legislation, it is important to recognize the bipartisan investigation of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee. That panel issued a report that found that PBMs inflate prescription drug costs and interfere with patient care for their own benefit. Meanwhile, an interim report of the Federal Trade Commission said that PBMs have great power over patients’ ability to access and afford prescription drugs, and that PBMs impose unfair contract terms on pharmacies.
We emphasize that every branch and level of government must do its part for comprehensive reform. We continue to see positive results at the state level. In 2024, 24 states enacted 33 bills, leading to the adoption of 74 policy changes that align with NACDS PBM reform and reimbursement priorities. Over the past three years, states have enacted more than 150 new PBM reform laws.
In 2025, NACDS will maintain our focus on advocating for the enactment of further progress in the states. Just as important, NACDS focuses on the implementation, enforcement and oversight of state PBM reform laws. Otherwise, the results needed by Americans, employers, taxpayers and pharmacies simply will not be realized.
Another growing and vital component of PBM reform is educating and empowering employers to ask the right questions and to bring about change when it comes to PBM tactics. A poll among American business leaders who have responsibility over managing or overseeing health benefits for their organizations found that nearly two out of three large employers believe PBMs are primarily looking out for their own bottom lines. Half of American business leaders and a majority of large employers believe that state and federal policy makers do not pay enough attention to PBM reform.
The business community’s concern and engagement is increasing as more is learned about the opaque tactics and operations of the market-dominant PBMs.
Thank you for your engagement
With 2025 under way, NACDS expresses thanks to the membership and to all who engage with us for irreplaceable leadership and support. For more than 90 years, NACDS has succeeded as a member-focused and collaborative trade association, and these traits will fuel further innovation, adaptability and success into the future. We look forward to serving the industry and working with Chain Drug Review readers in 2025.
