Illinois Pharmacists Association (IPhA)

02/06/2026

CE that fits real life. ✨
With IPhA On-Demand CE, you can stay informed and earn credit whenever it’s convenient—between shifts, after hours, or on the go.
📲 Check out our on-demand courses!

02/05/2026

02/05/2026

🏛️ Advocacy in action starts here.
Be part of the 20th Annual Pharmacy Legislative Day with IPhA & ICHP on February 25, 2026, in Springfield, IL.

📝 Pre-registration required by February 11 at 8:00 AM (https://ichpnet.org/events/calendar/pharmacy_legislative_day/2026/registration.php)
👥 Limited space available

Registered attendees may have legislator meetings scheduled by ICHP lobbyists.

CE information and the full, updated agenda are available on the Pharmacy Legislative Day webpage. (https://ichpnet.org/events/calendar/pharmacy_legislative_day/index.php)

We look forward to seeing you there as we come together to make our voices heard and advocate for the future of pharmacy!

02/04/2026

Make sure to register - https://www.ichpnet.org/events/calendar/pharmacy_legislative_day/index.php

02/04/2026

📢 IPhA Response to FTC Landmark PBM Settlement

Today’s announcement that the Federal Trade Commission secured a landmark settlement with Express Scripts marks an important step toward transparency and fairness in drug pricing.

For too long, PBM practices tied to inflated list prices, rebate-based incentives, and preferential formulary placement have hurt patients and squeezed pharmacies; especially independent community pharmacies that are vital to patient care.

This settlement requires changes intended to:

✅ increase pricing transparency
✅ reduce out-of-pocket drug costs for patients
✅ shift reimbursement away from artificially inflated list prices to net cost models
✅ provide new revenue opportunities for community pharmacies and fairer terms for pharmacists.

While this is a positive development, real PBM reform must go further to ensure long-term patient access to affordable medications and sustainable pharmacy practice environments in Illinois and nationwide.

IPhA remains committed to advocating for policies that protect patients and strengthen community pharmacies.

The Federal Trade Commission secured a landmark settlement with one of the nation’s largest pharmacy benefit managers (“PBMs”), Express Scripts, Inc., and its affiliated entities (collectively “ESI

02/04/2026

📣 "Patients don’t need another board — they need their pharmacy to still be open next month."

The Illinois Pharmacists Association opposes proposals to create a Prescription Drug Affordability Board (PDAB) that risk adding bureaucracy, delaying action, and creating new threats to pharmacy access without proven savings for patients.

At the same time, IPhA supports HB 2371, legislation that protects the federal 340B Drug Pricing Program by preventing restrictions to access of discounted medications for eligible providers and their pharmacy partners.

✔ PDABs risk pharmacy closures and reduced access
✔ 340B helps keep safety-net providers and community pharmacies serving patients
✔ Affordability only matters if care is still available

Illinois should focus on enforcing existing PBM reforms, ensuring savings reach patients at the counter, and protecting programs like 340B that keep pharmacies open and communities cared for.

The cost of prescription drugs is certain to be a hot-button issue in the coming Illinois legislative session with two separate measures making for curious bedfellows in Springfield.

02/04/2026

Many believe the federal program limits healthcare organizations and hospitals from providing discounted medications.

02/04/2026

👏 👏 👏 President Donald Trump today signed into law the first meaningful federal reforms to PBM practices, which are contained in a bill to fund the Department of Health and Human Services. This follows countless outreach efforts by NCPA and its members over the years, including phone calls and messages to Capitol Hill, pharmacy visits with legislators and their staff, and other meetings and events where we explained how PBMs harm patients, pharmacies, and payers (including governmental entities and taxpayers). "We’re grateful to our champions in Congress and to the president for seeing these provisions across the finish line in the face of tremendous pressure by PBM-insurers to maintain the status quo," said NCPA CEO Douglas Hoey, in part. "The pharmacy payment model is changing, and we’ll keep fighting to secure the best possible outcomes for independent community and long-term care pharmacies and their patients."

⚪ Read our full statement: https://bit.ly/4a2ph5y
⚪ Review our member summary: https://bit.ly/4qjrpfs
⚪ Sign up to attend the Congressional Pharmacy Fly-In and continue fighting for independent community and long-term care pharmacy: https://bit.ly/3IBF1PS

01/31/2026

Thank you Senator Dick Durbin for voting for the PBM reforms in the Consolidated Appropriations Act. Illinois pharmacies and patients are grateful; but this is only a start. Congress must take additional action to rein in PBM abuses and deliver the full reforms needed to protect patient access and keep pharmacies open.

‼️ In a vote of 341-88, the House of Representatives passed a spending bill that includes a provision requiring CMS to develop reasonable and relevant contract terms under Medicare Part D and create a mechanism for pharmacies to report contract violations. "The PBM reforms included in this package – the first major PBM reform in Medicare Part D to pass in nearly 20 years – are as welcomed as they are long overdue," said NCPA's Anne Cassity, expressing gratitude to the pharmacy champions in Congress and the many independent pharmacy allies and advocates who have participated in this fight. "We need to get this through the Senate and to the president’s desk as quickly as possible, so independent pharmacies and the patients they treat can have the relief from PBM manipulations they so desperately need."

Our statement is available here: https://bit.ly/3ZrK3Xr

01/28/2026

The Illinois Pharmacists Association (IPhA) and the Illinois Council of Health-System Pharmacists (ICHP) stand with all healthcare professionals who face emotional trauma, moral injury, and physical danger while serving their patients and communities. Our profession stands on the pillars of service, safety, and the protection of life, and these values are tested most fiercely when those who step forward to help are met with violence or escalating danger.

Healthcare settings must remain havens for care, where patients, families, and healthcare workers can focus on healing without fear. All individuals must be able to seek and receive medical care without concern that doing so will place them or their loved ones at risk, and healthcare professionals must be able to carry out their duties without intimidation or threat.

We are guided by our professional oath to place the welfare of humanity and the relief of suffering above all else, and we support clear, consistent policies that protect patient privacy, define appropriate interactions with law enforcement, and uphold the dignity of both patients and healthcare workers.

ICHP and IPhA remain committed to the highest principles of our profession and to ensuring the safety, well-being, and dignity of every healthcare worker and the communities we serve.

01/26/2026

🚨 Released today: The American Academy of Pediatrics has published its 2026 Childhood & Adolescent Immunization Schedule—and APhA proudly endorses it.

“APhA is proud to support the AAP childhood vaccine schedule as it provides scientifically based guidance and recommendations for essential, safe, and effective vaccines for our children,” said Brigid Groves, PharmD, MS, APhA’s Vice President of Professional Affairs.

View the 2026 schedule
https://ow.ly/TMp250Y3R0F

Read the full release:
https://ow.ly/jz8350Y3R0E