NCPA ‘Disappointed’ Over PBM Reform Being Stalled in Senate
The National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) is “disappointed” that the U.S. Senate failed to bring pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) reform to the floor for a vote by unanimous consent on March 10.
“Another swing and a miss,” NCPA CEO B. Douglas Hoey, pharmacist, MBA, said in a March 10 press release. “The Senate had a chance to pass the health-care package by unanimous consent. That package included the PBM reforms so many say they support. But they whiffed again.
“There is overwhelming bipartisan support for getting the PBMs under control. Everyone knows they are gaming the system. Everyone knows they are hurting consumers by driving up the cost of prescription drugs. Everyone knows PBMs, the cronies of Big Health Insurance companies, are killing their competition by paying their own pharmacies more than they pay small, community pharmacies. And everyone knows patients are paying more money and losing their local pharmacies. Everyone agrees this must happen, so take the win and do it. Although we are disappointed, we urge Congress to see the copious amount of bipartisan support behind this package and take it to the floor to pass without delay.”
The NCPA announcement added that some elements in the health-care package were “initially included in the last government funding bill, but the package was stripped out at the last minute in December of last year.”
Philips, Johnson & Johnson Named to Clarivate’s Top 100 Global Innovators List
Philips and Johnson & Johnson have been named to the 2025 Top 100 Global Innovators list, an annual program run by Clarivate.
Philips, #38 on the list, was named for its achievements in the medical and biotechnology category. Johnson & Johnson, #69, was named in the pharmaceuticals category.
In announcing the winners on March 12, Clarivate said the list “reveals the world’s leading organizations driving technological advancements and shaping the future of modern innovation.” London-based Clarivate (NYSE: CLVT) describes itself as “a leading global provider of transformative intelligence.”
The 2025 list was dominated by the electronics/computing equipment, semiconductors, industrial systems, and automotive industries. Philips has been named to the list 13 times; Johnson & Johnson has been named to the list 12 times.
