The National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) responded to President Trump’s recently announced “Great Health Care Plan,” highlighting both positive aspects and areas needing further attention. The organization, which represents over 18,900 community pharmacies across the United States, acknowledged the plan’s efforts to increase transparency in the health care industry.
In a statement issued by CEO B. Douglas Hoey, NCPA expressed support for the president’s objectives. “We share the president’s goal of delivering the best possible health care outcomes at the lowest possible prices. The plan he outlined today brings some much-needed transparency to the industry, especially as it applies to the health insurance giants and their PBM middlemen. They’ve operated in the shadows for decades and they’ve contributed more to the soaring cost of drugs than any other actors in the industry."
Hoey emphasized that ending certain practices between pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), insurance plans, and brokers is crucial for price transparency. He said, “Ending the kickback shell game between PBMs, insurance plans and their brokers is a particularly important element that will force more price transparency. We also like the goal of TrumpRx, which removes the PBMs from the equation, but we would stress that patients still need their local pharmacist for counseling, safety, and the full range of health care services they provide. Stranding patients in the wilderness of online shopping for medicine without the help of a local pharmacist would simply replace an impersonal insurance bureaucracy with an impersonal technical one. We want to keep health care personal, and we are eager to work with the president and his team to achieve it.”
The NCPA also urged Congress to pursue broader reforms targeting PBMs beyond what is included in Trump’s proposal. According to Hoey: “We would also like to stress that without broader PBM reforms, like the ones that have bipartisan support in Congress, the president’s plan won’t be enough. Congress must act now to pass those reforms. The president has called out the PBMs many times. Combined with the initiatives he outlined today, those reforms would bring down the soaring cost of drugs and protect patient access to local health care providers.”
Community pharmacies employ more than 235,000 people nationwide and are recognized as accessible points of care for many Americans.
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