When federal regulators want to understand what is happening on the ground in independent pharmacy, they do not always have to look far. In April 2025, WSPC facilitated an FTC visit to Salt Lake City, giving independent pharmacy owners in the region a rare opportunity to speak directly with federal officials about the economic pressures, reimbursement structures, and PBM practices that shape their daily operations.
The visit was part of the FTC's ongoing effort to gather real-world input from healthcare stakeholders as it continues to examine the role of pharmacy benefit managers in the prescription drug supply chain. For WSPC and its members, it was a chance to put a human face on data points that regulators often encounter only in written filings.
Utah has a robust independent pharmacy community, and WSPC has a strong membership presence in the state. The cooperative worked with regional members well in advance of the visit to identify the issues they most wanted to raise and to prepare them to speak clearly and credibly about their experiences — without overstating claims or obscuring the complexity of the issues.
The timing was deliberate. The FTC had recently released interim reports on PBM market concentration and practices, and federal legislative momentum around PBM reform was building in both chambers. A field visit to a state with a meaningful independent pharmacy footprint gave regulators an on-the-ground counterpart to the aggregate data already in front of them.
WSPC members raised a consistent set of concerns during the visit, many of which align with the issues the FTC has flagged in its own reporting. These included:
We are not asking for a handout. We are asking for a market that functions the way a market is supposed to function — where we can see what we are being paid, when we are being paid, and why.
— WSPC member pharmacist, speaking to FTC officials during the Utah visit
FTC staff in attendance listened without committing to specific next steps, which is standard practice during field engagement. Their role in this context is to gather, not to respond — but that does not diminish the value of the exchange. Testimony from pharmacy owners carries a different weight than trade association filings, and regulators have consistently noted the importance of hearing directly from the businesses most affected by the practices under scrutiny.
Several members who participated described the experience as unexpectedly affirming. They had expected a perfunctory listening session; what they found was a substantive conversation in which FTC staff asked detailed follow-up questions and seemed genuinely engaged with the operational specifics of independent pharmacy economics.
WSPC coordinates ongoing advocacy at the state and federal level on behalf of its members. Members with concerns about PBM practices, reimbursement disputes, or legislative developments are encouraged to contact the cooperative directly.
WSPC's involvement in the FTC visit reflects a broader commitment to giving independent pharmacy owners a voice in the policy conversations that shape their industry. That work is not confined to any single visit or any single issue. The cooperative monitors regulatory and legislative developments at the state and federal level, provides members with plain-language updates on policy changes that affect their businesses, and works alongside national organizations and state pharmacy associations to amplify the independent pharmacy perspective wherever it matters.
Independent pharmacy advocacy is most effective when it is grounded in specific, credible, real-world experience. The FTC visit in Utah was a demonstration of that principle: cooperative members speaking clearly, in their own words, about what they see and experience every day. That is a form of policy work that no trade group filing can fully replicate.
WSPC will continue to pursue opportunities to put member voices in front of the decision-makers who shape independent pharmacy's future. Members interested in participating in future advocacy efforts are encouraged to make themselves known through the cooperative — your experience is the most powerful argument we have.
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