Community Pharmacists Tally Hundreds of Congressional Visits Pushing for PBM Reform

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (May 2, 2025) – Hundreds of independent community pharmacy advocates from across the country came to Capitol Hill this week as part of the National Community Pharmacists Association’s Congressional Pharmacy Fly-In. The message: Congress must act swiftly to finalize and pass robust pharmacy benefit manager reform legislation and push the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to correct course on Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program implementation. 

Rep. Buddy Carter (R-Ga.) kicked off the fly-in on April 30, giving attendees his insights into what’s happening with PBM reform and budget reconciliation and sharing how they could most effectively their policymakers for progress. Later that day and on May 1, after being briefed by NCPA staff and other health policy experts, attendees headed to the Capitol to make their voices heard.

“Egregious PBM practices have led to the closure of thousands of community pharmacies just over the past few years, creating pharmacy deserts and pharmacy abandonment throughout the country and greatly limiting patient access to care,” said Jeff Harrell, PharmD, the 2024-2025 NCPA president. “In my home state of Washington, we lost 83 pharmacies in the second half of 2023 alone. Patients and pharmacies cannot keep waiting for these commonsense reforms, which are supported by the vast majority of members of Congress across the political spectrum. Add to that these policies save taxpayers billions of dollars, and passage should be a no-brainer. We need them to put the politics aside and get this done ASAP.”

Here’s a recap of NCPA’s 2025 Congressional Pharmacy Fly-In:

• The event was at maximum capacity for the second year in a row, drawing hundreds of community pharmacists from 39 states and the District of Columbia.
• Attendees visited more than 280 congressional offices for meetings with members of Congress or their staff. Because many meetings were attended by multiple pharmacists, the effect amounts to more than 1,100 interactions with members of Congress or their staff.
• With patients’ access to pharmacy care in jeopardy, community pharmacists urged Congress to act swiftly to finalize and pass PBM reform legislation that prohibits the use of spread pricing in Medicaid managed care programs and would move to a fair and transparent pharmacy reimbursement system; requires CMS to define and enforce “reasonable and relevant” Medicare Part D contract terms, including those related to reimbursements; and ensures adequate Medicare payment for pharmacist services.
• They also urged members of the House of Representatives to sign onto a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz. Led by Carter and Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-Mass.), the letter is seeking to urge CMS to use its authority to ensure implementation of the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program does not rely on pharmacies to pre-fund the program and says that CMS should reverse the challenged implementation to protect patient access to prescription drugs and pharmacy services.

The next Congressional Pharmacy Fly-In is scheduled for April 15-16, 2026.

Founded in 1898, the National Community Pharmacists Association is the voice for the community pharmacist, representing over 18,900 pharmacies that employ more than 205,000 individuals nationwide. Community pharmacies are rooted in the communities where they are located and are among America's most accessible health care providers. To learn more, visit www.ncpa.org.