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On July 15, APRx Board Member Micah Lansford, PharmD, owner of Roden-Smith Pharmacy in New Mexico, delivered compelling testimony before the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee, urging Congress to take a closer look at the administration of the TRICARE pharmacy program.
“The issue before this Committee is whether the TRICARE pharmacy benefit is being managed for military families and taxpayers, or whether ESI is exploiting its contract structure to benefit itself at the expense of local access, patient choice, and community-based pharmacy care,” Lansford told the Committee.
The hearing examined whether the current TRICARE pharmacy benefit is effectively serving military families or enabling conflicts of interest within its administration. Committee members questioned Express Scripts CEO Adam Kautzner about whether ESI can fairly administer the benefit while also operating affiliated pharmacy businesses that may financially benefit from the program.
Military families deserve transparency, accountability, and a pharmacy benefit built around patient care—not one that puts local access, patient choice, and community-based pharmacy care at risk. It is time to ensure TRICARE works for the service members, veterans, and families who depend on it.
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