NCPA's Congressional Pharmacy Fly-In resulted in more than 600 interactions

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Community pharmacists stormed the nation's capital for two days this week, generation more than 600 interactions with lawmakers around the value of community pharmacy.



“It’s been a great week for community pharmacy patients,” stated Douglas Hoey, CEO NCPA. “Independent pharmacists have been their advocates for real solutions to the problems of medication access and affordability they face. And it’s clear that Congress is listening.”



The purpose of the Congressional Pharmacy Fly-In, organized by the National Community Pharmacists Association, was to urge Congress to support an agenda that will rein in pharmacy benefit manager abuses and restore clarity and fairness to prescription drug pricing. And the hundreds of independent community pharmacists who came to Capitol Hill did just that, sharing with Congress leaders real solutions to the problem of skyrocketing prescription drug costs.



According to NCPA, the event drew community pharmacists from 37 states. Those community pharmacists visited more than 250 Congressional offices for meetings with members of Congress or staffers. Because many of those meetings were attended by multiple pharmacists, the effect amounts to more than 600 interactions with members of Congress or their staffs during the two-day event.



Hoey added that intensifying policymaker scrutiny of PBMs explains why some PBM-affiliated groups circulated propaganda attacking community pharmacists’ policy recommendations in advance of the Fly-In this past week. “You know you’ve struck a nerve when big Fortune 100 companies decide that their best PR strategy is to attack the small business owners who are on the front lines of providing patient care," he said. "The PBMs’ energies would be better spent mending their business model so that patients, pharmacies and plan sponsors are treated fairly.”