Due to their accessibility and clinical expertise, pharmacies and pharmacists are well positioned “to driving solutions that improve health-care access, promote innovations, and mitigate preventable spending that results from suboptimal health outcomes,” the National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) said in a recent statement to the U.S. Senate.
The May 20 statement was made by Steven C. Anderson, FASAE, CAE, IOM, president/CEO of the NACDS, to the United States Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions: Subcommittee on Primary Health and Retirement Security.
The statement specifically regarded the “Food Is Medicine” program, which the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion describes as “integrating consistent access to diet- and nutrition-related resources” in an effort “to end hunger and reduce the prevalence of chronic disease in the United States by 2030.”
NACDS references a pharmacy crisis in America
“NACDS lauds your continued partnership and leadership on Food Is Medicine and dedication to PBM [pharmacy benefit manager] reform, which remains a top priority for NACDS and our members,” Anderson’s statement said.
“There is a pharmacy crisis in America due to PBMs’ extremely below-cost reimbursement and avaricious business practices which lead to inflationary effects on drug prices, restrictions on patient access, higher health-care costs for patients, and an untenable future for community pharmacies in America. NACDS looks forward to continued opportunities to work collaboratively on Food Is Medicine, comprehensive PBM reform, and other key issues to better serve the American people and promote health across communities nationwide.”
Anderson also said in the statement that the American health-care system “incurs the highest spending and conversely yields the worst health outcomes, compared to other high-income countries,” citing a 2022 Commonwealth Fund report, “U.S. Health Care from a Global Perspective, 2022: Accelerating Spending, Worsening Outcomes.”
“This data indicates that the U.S. spends about twice as much as our peers on health care, with the lowest life expectancy and the highest rate of people with multiple chronic health conditions,” Anderson said in his statement. “In other words, not only are Americans living shorter lives, but they are doing so with more disease and disability. To achieve superior results, the nation desperately needs new solutions, especially those that target improved prevention, management and treatment of chronic diseases and include the nation’s most accessible healthcare providers — pharmacies and pharmacists.”
Citing the ability of healthy eating to positively affect chronic health conditions such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer, Anderson said, “NACDS urges the subcommittee to take action to improve access to Food Is Medicine interventions, leveraging the entire health-care continuum, including the unique expertise of pharmacies and pharmacists.”
The statement noted that 90% of Americans live within five miles of a pharmacy, and 86% of adults believe that pharmacies are easy to access, according to NACDS data.
“Pharmacies are open extended hours – including nights and weekends – when other health-care providers are unavailable,” the statement said. “Across populations, people visit pharmacies more often than other health-care settings. Moreover, more than 70% of Americans support pharmacists helping patients prevent chronic diseases, a top driver of health-care costs.”