McKesson ideaShare 2026: Why Reimbursement Predictability Matters for Independent Pharmacies

In an interview with Pharmacy Times, Emily Flaugher, vice president and general manager of Payer Solutions at McKesson, discussed at McKesson ideaShare 2026 how the pharmacy reimbursement landscape, while still challenging, is showing real momentum as more states advance meaningful legislation. She explained how Health Mart Atlas and tools such as the McKesson Reimbursement Advantage (MRA) program and ProviderPay help independent pharmacies maximize reimbursement, ensure accurate claims processing, and reconcile increasingly complex payment sources, including manufacturer refunds tied to the Inflation Reduction Act's negotiated drug pricing. Flaugher highlighted Atlas Specialty as a newer PSAO solution designed to help independent pharmacies overcome contracting barriers and unlock patient access to specialty medications. Looking ahead, she said ongoing reimbursement reforms should bring pharmacies greater predictability, stability, and transparency in what they can expect to earn per prescription, even as McKesson continues monitoring how new state and federal laws are implemented.

Pharmacy Times: Can you please introduce yourself?

Emily Flaugher: Hello, my name is Emily Flaugher. I'm the vice president and general manager of payer solutions for McKesson.

Pharmacy Times: Independent pharmacies continue to face pressure from low reimbursement rates and complex payer contracts. How would you describe the current reimbursement landscape for community pharmacies?

Flaugher: I think the current landscape has been tough. That's been sort of the story we've been seeing for the last several years, but I think what's really important is the momentum we're actually seeing on what's changing in the landscape. And so, there's a lot of operational complexities ahead for pharmacies, but I think there's light at the end of the tunnel, especially in several states that have been really ahead on PBM reform and setting reimbursement floors for pharmacies. So, I'm really excited to see the momentum that we're seeing.

Pharmacy Times: Health Mart Atlas works across a broad network of payers and reimbursement relationships. How do tools like ProviderPay and the McKesson Reimbursement Advantage program help independent pharmacies stay on top of what they're owed?

Flaugher: Health Mart Atlas is really here to be sort of that fundamental for service on payer access, understanding what's happening in the industry, and really, McKesson Reimbursement Advantage, or MRA for short, and ProviderPay—those are sort of surround-sound kind of solutions or partnerships. So, for MRA, it's really about audit protections, making sure that they can maximize reimbursement wherever possible, and making sure that claims are processed correctly. And on the provider pay side, it's all about claims reconciliation, so we’re making sure that we make it easy for them. In a lot of ways, it can be considered sort of a virtual FTE for them that's working in the background on their behalf. We made a lot of investments in provider pay over the last year as we prepared for the market changes around the Inflation Reduction Act, and so we wanted to make sure that as the industry now added a new layer of payment source for pharmacies—when manufacturer refunds started getting paid on those 10 negotiated drugs in 2026—that you had a solution like provider pay that could really help them navigate tracking kind of all those different payment sources and make it easier.

Pharmacy Times: What opportunity does the Atlas Specialty space represent for community pharmacies that want to grow?

Flaugher: It's a great question. Atlas Specialty is a newer PSAO solution under McKesson and really focused on specialty contract access. Specialty is absolutely a growing therapeutic class in the market, and we really wanted to put a solution there to kind of unlock some of those friction points and barriers of entry in the specialty space, because there are many. And while it doesn't solve all the barriers of entry, at least kind of unlocking some of the patient access to those medications at pharmacies to get specialty meds is really where Atlas Specialty is focused. And we've seen a lot of momentum over the last two years in growing our portfolio, so I think we have a pretty robust opportunity for those pharmacies that are unable to unlock specialty drug access and need a solution that gets them paid for processing those scripts.

Pharmacy Times: With ongoing legislative efforts around pharmacy reimbursement, what does the future of the reimbursement environment look like for independent pharmacies?

Flaugher: As I mentioned earlier, I think we're actually seeing a lot of momentum and bright spots for pharmacies. We're seeing a lot of reimbursement shifts in terms of how pharmacies are getting paid, mostly driven by these legislative efforts, even some as far as the federal level, beyond the state level. I think what I want to make sure pharmacies understand, though, and a lot of these new models that are being introduced, is that it doesn't automatically translate into more dollars at their pharmacy counter. It's really a shift to rebalance how pharmacies are paid, and so what I'm wanting to share is that a lot of that rebalancing will hopefully lead to more predictability and stability and consistency and transparency on what pharmacies can expect to earn on each prescription. And a lot of times, especially in the community pharmacy space, if you have, you know, you're trying to plan and hire and best keep the lights on, so that predictability has real value for them. And so I'm really excited to see all the shifting momentum, and I think for Health Mart Atlas we're evolving as those reforms come out as well—to say, how do we best position ourselves as their PSAO partner to make sure that we're not only maximizing contract and payer access, but we’re also making sure that we monitor and help understand the complexities of how these new reforms get implemented, because that's really where the challenge comes—after that state law is passed. How does the implementation work, and how do we make sure pharmacies are informed of what that process is going to look like for them?