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DENVER — The ability to both build networks and adjust to changes in the industry were key points hammered home during the Total Store Expo’s business program in Denver by two of the National Association of Chain Drug Stores’ top leaders.
The ability to both build networks and adjust to changes in the industry were key points hammered home during the Total Store Expo’s business program in Denver by two of the National Association of Chain Drug Stores’ top leaders.
Randy Edeker, who became NACDS chairman in April, said the association’s role in helping to build networks was more important now than ever. "It’s about connections and relationships," said Edeker, who is also chairman, chief executive officer and president of Hy-Vee Inc. "NACDS is the catalyst for that collaboration. It brings health care, retail and suppliers together." Edeker added that TSE offered an "ideal forum" for strategy, new innovations, unrecognized opportunities and discovery of new possibilities.
Steve Anderson, NACDS president and CEO, emphasized the need for those in the attendance to be flexible to what he termed "interruptions" in the industry. "At prior NACDS meetings, I’ve talked about ‘disruptive innovation’ — when a product or service displaces established competitors by making that product or service more accessible to the general public," he said.
Anderson cited the evolutionary effect of personal computers on mainframes and of cell phones on land lines as positive examples of disruptive forces and observed that NACDS member stores have similar effects in health care. "But I’ve decided it’s not just disruptions that change the game," Anderson continued. "It’s also the interruptions. Interruptions have the power to change our future."
The successful advocacy by NACDS to block an effort to reduce pharmacy Medicaid reimbursement to help pay for the 21st Century Cures legislation passed by the House of Representatives; the association’s preparation for all contingencies in anticipation of the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling earlier this year on the Affordable Care Act; its successful advocacy on Medicaid funding issues in New York, California and other states; as well as engagement on complex prescription drug abuse and access issues were some of the examples Anderson said showed the flexibility of NACDS to address significant challenges and opportunities facing the chain drug store industry.
Some of the changes in the industry Edeker spoke to included efforts to advance pharmacist provider-status legislation, speciality pharmacy, health care quality measures, and the role of technology and cybersecurity.
Edeker also addressed the evolving meanings of health and wellness, which he said is "not just about pharmacy anymore. It’s about clinics. It’s about all the support items that go with that." Edeker also touched on Obamacare and how it has affected the Medicaid-Medicare environment. "You know, the Affordable Care Act, ACA, really changed everything. It’s really boosted Medicaid and Medicare enrollment," he said, adding that 40% of all retail pharmacy prescriptions are through Medicaid and Medicare.
"When you consider the narrow and restricted networks that exist and reduced reimbursement, there are a lot of challenges that we face in this area. So retailers today have to be more focused on the total trip than ever in their history."
Anderson also addressed Obamacare and said NACDS was ready to react to whatever way the Supreme Court ruled when it ultimately upheld the ACA in June. "However you feel about the law, if it had been struck down there would have been a mad scramble to figure out how to keep coverage for the newly insured," Anderson said. "And Congress may have had to reconsider some of the pharmacy issues that NACDS made progress on through the health care reform law, such as Medicaid reimbursement. So, whichever way the Court ruled, we were prepared. We had a very elaborate plan before the Supreme Court decision. NACDS doesn’t wait for interruptions to happen and then figure it out. We have plans before interruptions happen."
Both leaders mentioned the importance of Millenials to retailers, with Anderson saying: "There is no doubt Millenials have already begun to dramatically impact your business, the public policy that affects your business, and the politics that decide the people who affect the policy that impacts your business."
During the expo, NACDS chain member Albertsons/Safeway received the 2015 NACDS RxImpact "Leader of the Year" award for its efforts to inspire advocacy and leadership development through the NACDS RxImpact program.
NACDS member Kinney Drug Inc. received the NACDS Political Action Committee (PAC) "Politically Engaged Pharmacy," or PEP, award, given for exceptional commitment to the advancement of pharmacy through political engagement.
"Grassroots and political involvement is an essential element of political advocacy," Anderson said.
