As his term as NACDS chairman winds down, Rick Gates can look back on a productive year. After mapping out a set of guiding principles — elevating community pharmacy, accelerating modernization and driving unified advocacy — at the start of his tenure in April 2025, Gates punctuated his chairmanship in February by helping secure passage of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, which included the most significant PBM reforms ever at the federal level.
The National Association of Chain Drug Stores has long relied on steady, collaborative leadership to advance the priorities of pharmacy retailers, a dynamic that has been especially evident in the push for PBM reform. The following profiles highlight four executives who have played pivotal roles in that effort — current chairman Rick Gates, his predecessors Kevin Host and Mike Wysong, and incoming chairman Dave Warner — each contributing to the association’s ongoing momentum.
Jeffrey Woldt
“It’s been a great opportunity to work collectively across the entire ecosystem,” said Gates, chief pharmacy officer at Walgreens. “This year we were able to show greater focus and consistency. One of my goals was aligning advocacy priorities so that when we went to policymakers, they heard a consistent message around access, reimbursements, community impact — all those things.
“In addition, I really wanted to make sure that we’re focusing on partnerships — think about academia and industry — and talking more about workforce, scope of practice and modernization, so that everyone understands where pharmacies are trying to go. That way we can continue to strengthen the next generation of pharmacists.”
While Gates acknowledged that the PBM reform measures enacted by Congress, which focus largely on Medicare recipients and local pharmacies, are a significant milestone, there’s still a lot of hard work to be done: “Legislators understand that this is only the first step. When we talk about aligning ourselves with others, there are some very clear things that we all believe are going to be necessary to set a standard of reimbursement that is sustainable for pharmacies.”
The next challenge for pharmacy advocates is monitoring how the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services [CMS] intends to implement PBM reform. “If we don’t get the regulatory process down appropriately, then we could lose all of the progress that we’ve made,” Gates said. “It’s critical that we make sure that we’re aligned on what those rules should look like before they take effect.”
The concepts that Gates stressed as chairman of the association also inform his work at Walgreens. The goal is to create conditions that allow the company’s nearly 8,000 pharmacies to maximize their contributions to patient care and public health.
“NACDS is really advocating for how we advance pharmacy, and that’s good for Walgreens,” he said. “Fair and sustainable reimbursement is the first thing that we’re all trying to secure. Second is permanent authority for pharmacists to bill for services beyond prescriptions. We know that patients want that, and pharmacists want to practice to the top of their training. And we know the value that pharmacies bring to the health care system.
“Then there’s modernization. We have to invest in platforms like Walgreens’ micro-fulfillment centers and digital capabilities to make sure that our pharmacists have the time and the ability to service patients beyond dispensing of medications. Finally, strengthening collaboration and speaking with one voice. Walgreens is not going to be afraid to use our voice, but we need to make sure that the entire industry is talking about what we’re trying to accomplish.”
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