NCPA launches toolkit to help independents connect directly to employers, health payers

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The National Community Pharmacists Association on Thursday announced the introduction of a resource kit — Take Charge of Rx Benefits in Your Community — to help preempt anti-patient drug benefit designs, such as those that require the use of mail-order facilities for prescription drugs.

The kit, which is free for NCPA members, can facilitate community pharmacist outreach to local employers, such as school districts and municipalities; offers tips about who to meet within those organizations to discuss common interests; and sets forth a procedure for local employers to receive objective advice from industry experts. 

“Concrete business solutions are one of the best ways to move the needle in achieving more desirable results,” stated Douglas Hoey, NCPA CEO. “While NCPA will continue to press for PBM reform at the federal level through bills such as the Medicare Prescription Drug Program Integrity and Transparency Act [S. 867], and work in concert with state pharmacy groups for local reform measures, the legislative and regulatory arena is not the only avenue for change," he continued. "That’s why we are helping to empower independent community pharmacy owners to be more proactive and effective in helping local health plan sponsors avoid PBM plan designs that are not transparent, lack flexibility and neither maximizes costs savings nor health outcomes. Take Charge of Rx Benefits in Your Community is the sort of multi-faceted toolkit that can make a difference.”

Take Charge of Rx Benefits in Your Community marks phase two of NCPA’s campaign to educate decision makers and consumers about the value of their prescription drug benefit. Last year NCPA launched whorunsmydrugplan.com, which features three award-winning videos called “The Third Wheel,” “Mail Order Madness” and “Fed Up With Phil.” They took a humorous look at the business practices of PBMs, embodied in each video by a character called Phil MyPockets. 

A new video “Phil MyPockets Mashup,” which includes bloopers and a recap of the previous three videos, was just added to the site to mark the one-year anniversary of this effort. All of these interactive communication vehicles can be used in conjunction with pharmacists’ outreach to employers. 

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