- Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders Discusses PBM Reform at NCPA Convention
- Rep. Buddy Carter Spends Time Speaking with NCPA Members on Convention Floor
- Senate Aging Committee Holds Hearing on Modernizing Health Care Marketplace through Patient Choice
- Senate HELP Committee Holds Hearing on 340B Program
- Sign Up for 10/30 Webinar on MTF Beacon Platform Tailored to LTC Pharmacy
Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders Discusses PBM Reform at NCPA Convention
One of the most impressive state-level PBM reforms from the past year has been the bill passed in Arkansas prohibiting state permits to pharmacies owned by PBMs effective Jan. 1, 2026. During the second general session of the 2025 NCPA Annual Convention, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R) did NCPA the honor of engaging in conversation with NCPA CEO Douglas Hoey and President-Elect Kristen Riddle on the importance of that reform as a sort of template for other states' reforms, as well as the goals of her administration overall. The bill's passage occurred despite strong opposition by PBM lobbyists.
"The world didn't end like they said it would. And so, in fact, it got better because it protected our local independent pharmacists, it created and continued a lot of access to care for people in smaller communities, which we have a lot of in our state. And the prices have remained steady; we're hopeful that we'll be able to continue to do things that bring the price of prescription drugs down," Sanders said.
She also shared her personal story of surviving thyroid cancer and the value of her relationship with her local pharmacist in her treatment.
"They removed dozens and dozens of lymph nodes. [I'm] totally healthy, doing great, but I take a daily medicine, and I will for the rest of my life, and I go to our local pharmacy. If I'm being honest, there are many times where I may or may not forget to get that prescription filled on a Friday afternoon at five o'clock or a Saturday morning, I'm frantically calling my pharmacist," she said.
"If I didn't have that kind of relationship, if I didn't know the person that was on the other side of the counter, it wouldn't be nearly as easy," Sanders said. "That's the difference that having local, independent pharmacists [makes], and one of the reasons to me that it's so critical that we protect them, that we fight for them, and that we make sure they continue to exist."
NCPA is grateful to Sanders for her critical work supporting community pharmacists in Arkansas, her willingness to speak at the convention, and her candor in sharing her story.
Rep. Buddy Carter Spends Time Speaking with NCPA Members on Convention Floor
Rep. Buddy Carter (R-Ga.) did NCPA the honor of joining us at our Annual Convention, visiting with the attendees at the NCPA Advocacy Lounge as well as the NCPA Lounge in our Expo Hall yesterday. He spoke to attendees about the importance of their pharmacies and how he is fighting for them in Congress.
Carter is a pharmacist by trade and a staunch ally of community pharmacies on Capitol Hill. His recently introduced legislation H.R. 4317, the PBM Reform Act, includes NCPA priority policies like requiring reasonable and relevant contract terms in Medicare Part D, eliminating spread pricing in Medicaid managed care program, and requiring that pharmacies are paid at NADAC plus their state’s dispensing fee.
Senate Aging Committee Holds Hearing on Modernizing Health Care Marketplace through Patient Choice
This week, the Senate Special Committee on Aging held a committee hearing titled “Modernizing Health Care: How Shoppable Services Improve Outcomes and Lower Costs” to explore how price transparency and the rise of shoppable health care services can benefit patients by promoting competition, reducing costs, and improving outcomes. The hearing highlighted how shoppable services offer patients more control over their health care decisions, allowing them to compare costs and quality across providers, and promote better transparency and accountability within the entire health care system. The expert witnesses invited to testify were Mark Cuban, co-founder of Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drugs Company, G. Keith Smith, M.D., co-founder, Surgery Center of Oklahoma and the Free Market Medical Association, and Don Moulds, Ph.D., chief health director of the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS), and Jeanne Lambrew ,Ph.D., Director of the Health Care Reform and Senior Fellow at The Century Foundation.
One of the largest topics of discussion were how Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) were impacting the health market place. Specifically, Senators Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Jim Justice (R-W.V.), Jon Husted (R-Ohio), and Roger Marshall (R-Kan.)—who waived on to the committee for this hearing—all highlighted in their questions that PBMs and their monopolies are hurting community pharmacies and patients with their anti-competitive tactics. Ranking Member Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Chairman Rick Scott (R-Fla.) specifically dug into vertical integration and the impact that that has had on pharmacies, patients, and the marketplace. Sen. Warren also called out how TRICARE could be impacted by PBMs and the unknown difference in how much Express Scripts is making off of their pharmacy contract. The hearing was a great bipartisan example of how issues in the health care space can bring folks together to try and lower health care costs. If you would like to watch this hearing you can do so here.
Senate HELP Committee Holds Hearing on 340B Program
This week, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions held a hearing titled "The 340B Program: Examining Its Growth and Impact on Patients." Throughout the hearing, many Senators emphasized their desire for changes to the 340B program, even while supporting the original intent. Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) indicated that she is working on draft legislation to make changes to the program, However, text has not been to compare to the 340B Access Act, introduced by Reps. Buddy Carter (R-Ga.) and Diana Harshbarger (R-Tenn.).
Two Senators, Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), brought up the role of PBMs in the program and the larger healthcare space. Sen. Hawley focused on vertical integration and the loss of independent pharmacies, asking Dr. Feldman, "Do you have a view on the rapid consolidation of pharmacies, the loss of independent pharmacies in this country? PBMs buying them up - pharmacies, left, right and center, PBMs buying up doctor's practices, buying up hospitals, integrating all of them. Basic economics would tell us when you have that kind of integration, that kind of vertical integration, you're going to get an increase in prices. Do you think that has anything to do with the increase in drug prices that we've seen, and can we do something about it?"
Sen. Hawley finished his questioning by noting that there are two counties in his state which now have no pharmacies, and closed stating, “And yet, these big companies, these big PBMs, they make more money than ever before. It's a racket."
Sign Up for 10/30 Webinar on MTF Beacon Platform Tailored to LTC Pharmacy
Senior Care Pharmacy Coalition (SCPC) would like to invite you to a one-hour webinar specifically for long-term care pharmacies hosted by Beacon MFP on Thursday, October 30, 12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. E.T. Below you will find more details.
Agenda
- Opening Remarks
- MFP overview
-MFP rebate processing (timeline/lifecycle)
- Platform highlights
- 835 Transaction
- Payments/appeals connections to claims
- Good faith inquiries
- Customer support, further training resources
- Questions and answers
About Beacon MFP
Beacon MFP is a technology platform that delivers transparency for pharmacies dispensing Medicare Part D drugs subject to the “Maximum Fair Price” (MFP) in 2026. Pharmacies can register to use the platform, search MFP refund status, view the basis of price category used for refund calculations, and submit good-faith inquiries to manufacturers about MFP-refund issues. All 2026 IPAY manufacturers selected Beacon as their exclusive technology partner to manage MFP refunds and good-faith resolution. Beacon MFP offers pharmacies a comprehensive, efficient resource to support transparency and MFP reconciliation activities, and this webinar will show how to access its benefits.
Speaker
Katheryne Richardson, PharmD, is Chief Strategy Officer at Second Sight Solutions and has over 25 years of experience including pharmaceutical industry executive leadership, pharmacy practice, strategic consulting, and drug pricing and policy analytics. She has specific technical expertise and is a nationally recognized thought leader in programs such as 340B and Medicare’s Maximum Fair Price. She has held former executive level roles at BMS, whereas the VP of Global Pricing she served as the pricing and analytics lead for the first Inflation Reduction Act negotiation with CMS for the largest spend and highest volume Medicare drug, and Apexus (the government-designated 340B Prime Vendor), whereas the VP of Policy and Compliance she created and oversaw educational and technical assistance, a market-leading certificate program, a national call center, and managed executive level government relationships. She leverages her broad industry background to guide Second Sight Solutions in the creation of innovative drug channel management technology.
Webinar Instructions
Topic: Beacon MFP Platform: Benefits for Dispensing Entities
Time: Oct 30, 2025 12:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
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Meeting ID: 936 7870 6052
Passcode: 952034
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NCPA’s Advocacy Center Update provides a weekly detailed summary of recent and breaking legislative, regulatory, and state developments impacting independent community pharmacy and NCPA’s efforts to affect policies benefitting its membership and the industry. The weekly update is distributed to NCPA leadership, steering committees, allied organizations/stakeholders, and major contributors to the NCPA LDF and PAC. The weekly update is intended exclusively for the recipient and is not for external distribution.