The most effective advocate for independent pharmacy isn’t a lobbyist – it’s you!
When US, Senators and House Members return home when Congress is not meeting in Washington, and they’re spending time in their communities, you have a valuable opportunity to show them firsthand how your pharmacy serves the patients that are their constituents and how current healthcare policies affect your pharmacy’s ability to fully serve them.
A 20-minute pharmacy visit can turn complex policy discussions into real-world examples that lawmakers remember when they return to vote on issues affecting independent pharmacy.
Get Your Free Legislative Visit Toolkit
Ready to Host a Legislator?
IPC has created a free Legislative Visit Toolkit to help you plan a successful pharmacy tour.
The toolkit includes:
- Invitation email template
- Meeting planning checklist
- Sample agenda
- Legislative Issue Summary & Talking Points
- Follow-up guidance
Download the toolkit and start building relationships that can help shape the future of independent pharmacy.
Why Pharmacy Visits Matter
Lawmakers hear about pharmacy issues, but few have actually seen how an independent pharmacy operates.
A pharmacy visit allows you to show them:
- The patients who rely on your services.
- The healthcare access your pharmacy provides.
- The impact of PBM practices and reimbursement challenges.
- The value independent pharmacies bring to their communities.
When legislators see your pharmacy firsthand, they gain a better understanding of how their decisions affect communities, local businesses, healthcare providers, and patients.
What Your Visit Can Accomplish
A successful pharmacy visit can:
- Build a lasting relationship with a legislator and their staff.
- Position you as a trusted healthcare resource.
- Increase awareness of issues affecting independent pharmacy.
- Encourage lawmakers to support pharmacy-friendly legislation.
- Give policymakers real-world examples they can take back to Washington or your state capitol.
Most importantly, it allows you to explain how federal policy decisions impact your pharmacy, your employees, and your patients.
Key Issues to Discuss
You don’t need to cover every pharmacy issue. Focus on the issues that affect your pharmacy, your patients, and your ability to continue serving your community.
Medicaid Managed Care PBM Reform
Current federal legislation would address spread pricing and require more transparent, cost-based reimbursement in Medicaid managed care programs. IPC supports these reforms because they help protect patient access while reducing PBM overbilling.
What to tell lawmakers:
- How Medicaid reimbursement impacts your pharmacy.
- Examples of prescriptions reimbursed below cost.
- How current reimbursement challenges affect patient access.
- Why fair and transparent reimbursement matters.
PBM Divestiture Legislation
PBM divestiture legislation would address conflicts of interest created when PBMs, insurers, and pharmacies operate under the same corporate ownership. IPC believes greater competition and transparency are essential for patients and independent pharmacies.
What to tell lawmakers:
- How PBM market concentration affects your business.
- Why independent pharmacies need a level playing field.
- How patient choice can be impacted by vertically integrated companies.
Pharmacist Access and Provider Recognition
Legislation such as the Main Street Pharmacy Access Act and Equitable Community Access to Pharmacists Services Act would help ensure pharmacists can continue providing healthcare services within their scope of practice and improve access to care.
What to tell lawmakers:
- Services your pharmacy already provides beyond dispensing.
- Healthcare access challenges in your community.
- How pharmacists help fill gaps in patient care.
- Why pharmacists should be recognized as healthcare providers.
Your Story Is the Most Important Talking Point
You don’t need to be a policy expert.
Legislators can find statistics anywhere. What they need from you is your experience.
Tell them:
- What keeps you up at night as a pharmacy owner.
- How reimbursement challenges affect your business.
- What services your patients depend on.
- Why these reforms matter to your community.
Your pharmacy’s story is more powerful than any position paper.
The next time Congress leaves Washington and returns home, don’t miss the opportunity. Invite your federal legislators into your pharmacy. Show them the value you provide, the challenges you face, and why independent pharmacies remain essential to patient care.
Because the future of independent pharmacy will be shaped by the decisions lawmakers make—and those decisions are influenced by what they see in pharmacies like yours.
Get Your Free Legislative Visit Toolkit
Ready to Host a Legislator?
IPC has created a free Legislative Visit Toolkit to help you plan a successful pharmacy tour.
The toolkit includes:
- Invitation email template
- Meeting planning checklist
- Sample agenda
- Legislative Issue Summary & Talking Points
- Follow-up guidance
Download the toolkit and start building relationships that can help shape the future of independent pharmacy.
