CVS LEAVES NACDS: CVS Health has left the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, according to the poltical newsletter Politico Influence. It’s leaving the retail pharmacy trade group without one of the country’s largest drug store chains amid a push to rein in pharmacy benefit managers, the largest of which CVS owns.
— “While we have made the decision to step away from the association, we are fully committed to advancing and supporting the value of pharmacy and the critical role that pharmacists play as health care providers in their communities,” CVS spokesperson Matt Blanchette told PI.
— CVS pharmacies made up almost a quarter of the nearly 40,000 pharmacies NACDS says it represents, and the company’s departure will also cost the trade group a nice chunk of change. CVS Health reported paying $1.6 million in dues to NACDS last year, less than only its membership dues for America’s Health Insurance Plan, Better Medicare Alliance and the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association.
— Blanchette did not explain the reason behind CVS’ split with NACDS, but it comes amid a broader push in the pharma ecosystem to blame rising drug costs on PBMs, which health insurers, employers and the government hire to manage prescription benefits for their health plans. CVS Caremark controls the largest chunk of the market among PBMs, one of three companies that controls 80 percent of the PBM market, according to Health Industries Research.
— NACDS has applauded state legislation to regulate PBMs and last month, it praised an announcement that the FTC would probe PBM practices as contributing to momentum for PBM reforms. NACDS did not respond to a request for comment.