WASHINGTON – More than 300 pharmacists, other pharmacy representatives, student pharmacists and faculty, state association allies and others — representing all 50 states — will convene in Washington, D.C., March 13-14, for the National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) RxIMPACT Day on Capitol Hill.

The pharmacy advocates will urge Members of Congress to act on legislative priorities that benefit Americans and the pharmacies on which they rely.

Of note, NACDS members and advocates will urge that pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) reforms in Medicare and Medicaid are must-pass legislation in the 118th Congress. NACDS urges enactment of reforms that have garnered broad and strong bipartisan support, and which are essential to reduce patients’ prescription drug costs, to preserve pharmacy access and to protect the viability of pharmacies in communities nationwide.

An NACDS ad speaks to the critical importance of enacting these reforms, and to doing so without delay.

NACDS also will discuss the importance of maintaining Americans’ post-pandemic access to pharmacy-based services including vaccination, testing and treatment services. Specifically, NACDS members and advocates will urge for the enactment of the bipartisan Equitable Community Access to Pharmacist Services Act (H.R. 1770/S. 2477). More than 100 bipartisan members of the U.S. House of Representatives support H.R. 1770, and nearly 200 organizations including rural and senior advocacy groups, physician and provider groups, patient advocacy organizations, pharmacists and health systems support the legislation.

“We look forward to the return of NACDS’ high-energy annual grassroots event in Washington, D.C., which will bring together an impressive force of pharmacy advocates at this crucial time for patients and for pharmacies,” said NACDS President and CEO Steven C. Anderson.

“This year, our message to the U.S. Congress is clear: Every day without sound PBM reforms in Medicare and Medicaid is another day that PBM tactics are allowed to inflate Americans’ prescription drug costs, to force pharmacy closures and to block access to Americans’ pharmacy of choice. The time for action is now. Congress has already done the hard work of crafting broad and bipartisan reforms, and NACDS stands ready to support their enactment – for Americans and for the pharmacies serving them.”

The grassroots event is ideally timed given the ever-increasing focus on PBM reform and the sense that it remains a high-priority and yet-undone item on the Congressional to-do list.

NACDS commented last week on a White House listening session on PBM reform and a coalition – including NACDS – commented last week on the persistent need for Congress to act.

Photos from the 2024 NACDS RxIMPACT Day on Capitol Hill event will be made available at an NACDS Flickr album. Check out NACDS’ LinkedIn, Facebook and X for coverage of the 2024 program — and join the conversation with the official NACDS RxIMPACT Day on Capitol Hill hashtag: #RxIMPACTHillDay.