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New Board Member Joins Meeting
Recently elected Board member Mark Vogler (right) ― owner of two pharmacies in the Amarillo, TX area ― was seated for his first Board meeting and was a significant contributor in many of the Board's discussions and decisions.
Board Expansion Planned
The Board agreed to expand the number of Board seats to eight from the current seven, effective June 2023, and directed General Counsel Miguel Rodriguez to draft the necessary revisions to the APRx Bylaws to present to the Board for formal approval.
Approval of 2023 Budget
President Laird Leavoy; John Cooper, VP of Finance& Operations; and consulting accountant Chris Janecek gave a final report on the 2022 budget and answered questions from the Board. Leavoy and Cooper presented the proposed 2023 budget, which the Board voted unanimously to adopt.
Sales & Business Update
Ryan Gevara, Senior VP of Sales; Nathan Rawls, VP of National Accounts, and Sales Director Tory Eckhardt reported continued major gains on the sales front. They said American Pharmacies' has a rapidly growing prospect pipeline for new business in multiple states and they covered some of the significant wins the Sales Team has achieved so far this year. Board members were delighted with the huge increase in new members for 2022 as well as the 26% increase in 2022 total retail volume over 2021. The sales leaders also detailed how new data and software is significantly improving the sales team's ability to effectively identify and target high-value prospects nationwide.
Generics & Purchasing Economics Update
John Cooper told the Board that wholesaler economics are being pressured by a surge in costly, low-margin, complex Type 2 diabetes medications such as Ozempic, Mounjaro, and Wegovy. The volume increase from these drugs will likely be offset by federally mandated insulin cost reductions scheduled to begin in January 2024. He also reported that generic deflation moderated in 2022, especially in the fourth quarter, and that the FDA has ramped up facility inspection activity, which has led to some supply disruptions. He said he expects more generic cost increases than we have seen the past few years and will be monitoring for possible opportunities to alert our members to acquire product prior to a price increase.
AmerisourceBergen Performance Monitoring
Director of Corporate and Vendor Coaching Joe Cheney discussed his efforts to monitor ABDC’s operational performance on issues as delivery times, damaged goods, returns and the holiday shipping schedule. He explained a process that APRx developed to track customer issues and response/resolution by ABC. He also discussed ABC's performance on the timing of return credits and its responsiveness on Customer Care issues.
Presentation of Marketing and Branding Manager
As part of its ongoing commitment to have more in-depth interactions with the entire American Pharmacies' staff, the Board heard a presentation from APRx Brand & Marketing Manager Charlotte Hutchison. Hutchison teamed with Good Neighbor Pharmacy Director Katie Collins to talk about GNP's value proposition, new features and future plans. Hutchison also covered the APRx marketing team's plans to provide tools and guidance that help our members pick which GNP programs are best for them.
State-Federal Advocacy Report
Michael Wright, VP of Government Affairs, said the advocacy team is working tirelessly in the current legislative session in Texas to increase Medicaid managed care reimbursement and to defend laws enacted in 2021 from PBM efforts to gut them. He also informed the Board about APRx activities in New Mexico, Michigan, Arizona and Florida. He gave a thorough update on our activities at the federal level, especially the activities of our lobbyist, and American Pharmacies' engagement efforts with Congress and the Federal Trade Commission on PBM reform.
Legal Update
Miguel Rodriguez updated the Board on several court cases involving PBM issues that affect the business of retail pharmacy. He also reported on the status of American Pharmacies' ongoing efforts to eventually convert the APRx MEWA Health Plan to self-funded status.
Marketing & Communications | APEX
Chuck Waters, VP of Marketing, Communications & Data Strategy, told the Board that the APRx website has been largely restored to its former state after the late February ransomware attack that disabled multiple sites managed by our website hosting company. He stressed that no data was stolen or compromised in the attack and that APRx does not keep any type of highly confidential data on its website. He also reported on the continuing success of planning and preparation for the APEX 2023 conference, stating that registrations and revenue are far ahead of the 2022 pace and that all six CE sessions were finalized at an early date.
Update on Drug Supply Chain Security Act
Greg Gorniak and Lesley Langley of AmerisourceBergen gave the Board an update via teleconference on the wholesaler's actions to support compliance with the Drug Supply Chain Security Act. A major focus of the discussion was the upcoming DSCA requirements that kick in on Nov. 27 for retail pharmacies and what our members need to be aware of. ABC stated that it has documented the up-to-date licensure of almost all of its suppliers as required under the DSCSA and that it expects few, if any, supply disruptions arising from licensing issues.
Engagement With AmerisourceBergen Leaders
Showing its continued commitment to high-level engagement with the American Pharmacies Board and staff, our wholesale partner sent three executives to the Board meeting: Kurt Ginter, Group Vice-President for Buying groups and Long-Term Care and Nick Petrucci, VP of Buying Groups. All underscored AmerisourceBergen's strong commitment to its relationship with American Pharmacies and discussed how the two partners can more effectively work together.
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