Dear Colleague,
Old habits die hard. And for many consumers, those habits don't include you or your pharmacy. They include heading to another big chain or defaulting to mail order when their big chain closes — which has been happening at a historical rate. At NCPA, we're working to break those habits.
Getting a prescription filled has never been more frustrating for patients. They're navigating Big Health Insurance roadblocks, rebate-driven formularies, and a shrinking pharmacy landscape. There are 8,000 fewer pharmacies today than a decade ago. That's a 15 percent drop, leaving the remaining pharmacies to pick up the slack. You've felt it. Patients have too.
Of those closures, some were independents, but the majority were big chains. Rite Aid's bankruptcy grabbed headlines. Walgreens' troubles are well known. Even CVS, backed by its vertically integrated empire, announced it was closing 10 percent of its stores. That's thousands of patients suddenly searching for a new pharmacy. NCPA's concern? Too many patients assume their only option is another chain ... or worse, mail order.
And Amazon Pharmacy has noticed. They're running national ads and by the end of this year, they plan to offer same-day prescription delivery service to 4,500 towns and cities. Their market share is still small, but it doubled in 2024 and jumped another 50 percent in 2025. They smell opportunity, and they're coming for community pharmacy patients.
That's why the NCPA Board approved a multi-million-dollar national branding campaign to let patients know they have a choice and there are other pharmacy options.
We launched this week with spots on national cable — Fox, CNN, HGTV, and more — with streaming, social, and radio right behind. We partnered with the creative team that delivered "PBM Leeches," "PBM Career Day," and "PBM Fat Cats." So yes — the spots have some edge and some humor. Perfect. That's by design.
To be clear: this campaign isn't about bashing chains. It's about reminding consumers, especially those displaced by closures, that they have choices. And independent pharmacies should be first on that list.
It's also about sending business directly to your door. NCPA members can customize the ads with their pharmacy name, logo, and tagline at no cost. The ads direct patients to the NCPA pharmacy locator. A multi-million-dollar national campaign that you can localize for free. Membership definitely has its privileges.
Now, we get it: not all new business is profitable business. In today's upside-down reimbursement model, more prescriptions can sometimes mean more financial pain. (You can opt out here). PBM contracts that contributed to the big chain closures might resemble the take-it-or-leave-it contracts that disadvantage independents. But independent owners are savvy and will be able to discern which new patients have "reasonable and relevant" prescription benefit terms and which do not. Doctors choose which insurance plans they accept; increasingly, pharmacies must make similar decisions. And when patients start asking their employer why the local pharmacy can't take their plan, pressure builds where it matters: on brokers and PBMs.
Most owners tell me that "word of mouth" is their main marketing strategy. And it works. But why stop there, especially now, with this much patient churn and this much disruption?
Old habits may die hard but with NCPA's new branding campaign, your business can help a lot of patients discover that there is a difference in pharmacies and they do have a choice.
Who better for them to choose than you?
Best,
B. Douglas Hoey, Pharmacist, MBA
NCPA CEO
