NCPA Says Trump’s “Great Health Care Plan” Would Make Positive Changes to the Market, but Addressing the PBMs Must Remain a Priority

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (Jan. 15, 2026) – The National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) today issued the following reaction to President Trump’s “Great Health Care Plan” on behalf CEO B. Douglas Hoey: 

“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.

“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.

“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.”