The Value of a Trusted Wholesaler & Cole’s Act Update | TWIRx

0:03Are systematic reviews taking months? There's a better way. Nested Knowledge is an AI-powered evidence synthesis platform built specifically for life sciences teams working under tight timelines. From literature search to metadata analysis, everything happens in one place. Smart Screener evaluates thousands of studies against your criteria in minutes. Smart MA Extraction pulls quantitative data from tables and builds your analysis automatically. Smart Critical Appraisal assesses bias using established frameworks like JBI and SIGN, with full transparency into every decision. The result? Publication-ready Prisma diagrams, forest plots, and critical appraisal visuals, all traceable, all auditable, and all generated from a single platform.

0:51Whether you're in medical or regulatory affairs, health economics, and outcomes research, Nested Knowledge helps you produce rigorous evidence synthesis in days, not months. Ready to see how it works? Visit nested-knowledge.com to schedule a demo. Nested Knowledge, the standard in evidence synthesis.

1:19Hey, welcome to This Week in Pharmacy. Today is August 14th, 2026. This is Twerks. We have a big show. Bill Schmidtnick is coming back to Twerks to give us an update on Kohl's Act out of Wisconsin. We're going to be talking to the president of Value Drug, Rick's site about the changes that are happening to the markets, especially in the northeast area, the north, the west side, east side of the United States with the closing of Smith Drug. We're going to be talking about a lot of other things, especially through the news, lots going on. NACDS Total Store Expo coming up this weekend. All this and more on Twerks.

2:15Thank you.

2:42Hey, welcome to This Week in Pharmacy. I'm here with Rick Seip, PharmD. Yes, sir. Pharmacist, CEO of Value Drug Company. This is a special episode because we have, Twerks has always been intended to be a news program. I want latest of what's happening. I don't know if we can get any more later than some of the changes that are happening at Value and some of the opportunities that are happening at Value. Talk to our listeners about the big announcement. Absolutely. and appreciate you having us here today. Love the partnership. From, at this point in time, with value, it's a very exciting time because unfortunately for some of the pharmacies that are out there, they're losing a wholesale partner.

3:23Smith Drug was a very important partner for many of the pharmacies that are in our area, and they'll be ceasing operations at the end of September. And we'd love to get a chance to talk to them, partner with them, and be able to provide services for them, help keep them serving their patients the way that they have been for so many years? I have personal friends. I have pharmacists and pharmacy owners I've known for years that they've used Value Drug Company. They have personal relationships with the organization. There is something very appealing when you're treating your patients from the store's perspective, from the pharmacy's perspective, and you feel that you're being treated that same way with that same care.

4:08As we were walking into the Hilton here, we're broadcasting live from the Hilton here in Cannonsburg, Pennsylvania. You and I were talking about exactly that. Absolutely, and really it's that relationship that starts with us in the pharmacy, and hopefully it allows them and frees them up and puts them in the right place of mind and just thought process to be able to just take care of their patients. That's why they went to school. That's why they went to pharmacy school, is to really just to take care of the public, be able to treat their patients, and make a difference. And hopefully we make that easy for them.

4:44And that's the intention. And if they need something, they can pick up the phone. They talk to a real person. They get to that person that helps to aid them, whether it be one of the members of our pharmacy team, like John James or Nicole Hassan, or if it's our customer service representative that is answering calls all day long. we want to make sure that we're there for them. Let's talk about the markets. You've experienced growth in coverage throughout the United States. So which areas, which states are we concentrated in now? So overall values footprint really has always been Eastern Ohio, Maryland, and Pennsylvania.

5:21Really, at this point, we can reach as far west overnight to Indiana, as far east as the end of Massachusetts. We go north to the Great Lakes through New York and down as through Virginia. So right now our focus is in our home area and then spreading east and west. So really making sure that we can talk to more pharmacy owners in the state of Ohio, particularly West Virginia, Kentucky, and then going east, upstate New York, Connecticut, and just continuing to spread from there. And obviously we want to talk to folks not only primary but also secondary And even in our home areas as well, too. That's important to us.

5:56Rick, you know, it's one thing. I think it's the most important thing to be customer-oriented and understanding what your customer is experiencing, what their challenges are. But then in today's world, it's 2026. We're talking about modern technologies. We're talking about warehouse technologies and delivery and logistics. It's interesting that you're delivering the most important part of this relationship out front first. But guess what? Value Drug Company has invested in multi-millions of dollars of infrastructure to be prepared for the future in order to compete with some of the bigger wholesalers.

6:34Talk to our listeners about that infrastructure. Absolutely. And for us, it's a matter of making sure that when you order a product, you know you're going to have it. So the services, we're very proud of that. But we're equally as proud as making sure that if you order a product, it's what you're getting. And you get it there timely. and in the right shape. It's not something's not crushed or damaged. And that seems simple, but sometimes it's not that simple. Our accuracy is over 99.995%, which is a crazy number to think about. But literally every order that goes through our warehouse is checked again just before it goes out in the truck.

7:12Piece by piece, literally from every scan. We have automation, so we can double our volume in no time as well, too. essentially overnight to allow to support us to support the pharmacies, and that's what's so important. So we want to make sure we get it there and get it there the right way. So prescription is that lifeblood of that independent community pharmacy, but now other things are happening in care. We're seeing patients being cared for their diabetic or their hypertension or something, and now the pharmacists are doing treatment tracking and treatment management. Talk to us about the programs and some of the things that you're helping to infuse into your customer base and how it's the next generation pharmacist that's coming to the table.

7:58Absolutely, and that's so exciting because some of the pharmacists that are just graduating or recently graduated, they bring some different perspectives for us, right? And some pharmacists have been doing clinical care and on the edge of clinical care, I should say, because we're always doing clinical care, but on the edge of clinical care for years. So for us, it's a matter of making sure that we fit what's right for that pharmacy. Everyone may not be at the same place. So whether it's as simple as an immunization program or higher-end provider status, that's what the team there is ready to support.

8:33If it's a billing platform that someone needs or just questions on how to perform the evaluation and monitoring type of billing codes, et cetera, Those are all things that we want to make sure that we just don't have a cookie cutter solution, but a solution for whatever that pharmacy needs. And to be able to allow them to practice at the top of their license as well. You know, I couldn't have started the Pharmacy Podcast Network if I didn't have experience in other facets of pharmacy. I didn't even know what to talk about back in 2009 when I started the show. But because I had been soaking in technology and I started understanding workflow and I started understanding challenges that pharmacists were having in getting therapies and answers to their customers, there's a similar pathway that you had with your previous employer with Wise Pharmacies that you had relationships with manufacturers.

9:28You got to know these people. You got to know them at a personal basis. there's a lot of strength that's now being brought to that through a value drug company talk to us about those relationships with with manufacturers absolutely and relationships are the key to i will say all businesses and particularly pharmacy just like what you said um your relationships and and how you've grown them same same with us and growing those those manufacturer partnerships and i will say it is not me uh it is the team the team just does a great job we have folks that have worked for value for five years, for 10 years, for 30 years.

10:05And they have that relationship where they pick up the phone and someone's answering. And that's just so critical, especially when there's a product that's in short supply or there's allocation. Or a time like this where maybe we don't typically utilize a product or that quantity of it, and you get those things done. And those relationships are key. And obviously, continue to nurture them for my whole career, but obviously it's the team and the team that's behind us to really help make sure that we secure the product that people need and the services for that matter, because it's not just product.

10:41It's the whole continuum. Well, let's talk about that for a second, because the pharmacy owners who are stressed out, business running pharmacy businesses is stressful. Even if you're a small chain or one independent community pharmacy, it doesn't matter. the Smith drug team personalized services and the kind of feeling that these pharmacy owners are going to get that they really regret you know the collapse of of Smith drug the hand holding and the white glove service that they're getting from value drug company it's that same feeling of personalization and so I think that there's something to that yes and I appreciate it take it as a compliment and obviously from a from smith they did a great job at doing that and i'd like to think that we do too and those are some of the best compliments that we can have is hey you were just like or you're better than blank right um and that's what we want to bring to the table we don't want them to miss a beat because we know that the stress i think you highlighted that uh the uncertainty the stressors the not knowing um those are the things that keep you up at night and we want it to be seamless to the fact that they can just get the product they want or order from or through a GPO that they might be utilizing.

11:59These are things that allow them to continue to service their patients, and that's the type of service. And hands-on as well, too, like you said. That white glove service has been a hallmark of value drug for a long time. It's a special opportunity happening tonight. People that are listening to This Week in Pharmacy are listening to, it's a Friday, getting ready for the weekend, but you have a lot of regional meetings planned. What meetings are coming up next week that you'll be at? I appreciate it. We have a couple meetings that are coming up right here in Pittsburgh. Obviously, as this is being taped, but we'll be going into West Virginia, two locations in Ohio, so Clarksburg, West Virginia, essentially Mason and Columbus, Ohio, and also at the same time, New York State and Schenectady and also two locations in Connecticut.

12:52So our goal is to be able to meet pharmacies, see them there, and really answer questions. We're there to help to reassure, spend some time with them, and let them know that there's a partner that they can come talk to, lean on, ask questions of, and really have a good replacement for them. Rick, we so much appreciate you for jumping on the pods here on TWERX. and being with us. We have another special episode that's going to be coming up later, I think next month or before the end of August. August is quickly, I'm thinking of school, I'm thinking of all the changes that are making, but it's all going too fast.

13:30But thank you so much for being here. I want listeners to just ask questions. Reach out, go to ValuedrugCo.com. I think it's.com, right? Yeah, ValuedrugCo.com. Ask questions. You'll see the link in the show notes. If you're driving or you're doing something you can't, don't worry about it. Get back somewhere. Google Value Drug Company. They'll come right up. Rick, this has been a special time with you, and I appreciate you for making this time for our listeners. Thank you. I really appreciate it, and thanks for what you do.

14:05Feeling lost with the complexities of pharmacy accounting? In pharmacy today, there's so many different variables and issues that impact the pharmacy books, records, accounting, the profitability of the store, so forth. There's different components of pharmacy that have its own nuances from an accounting standpoint. And so it's tricky. There's no doubt about it. Ready to take your pharmacy to the next level but don't know where to start? Sykes & Company is here to help. Introducing the Rx Assessment. With the Rx Assessment, the pharmacy CPAs and advisors at Sykes will do a deep dive into your accounting and tax situation and give you the action steps you need to take to take your pharmacy to the next level.

14:46If you're interested in working with a team who understands the industry and how the accounting and tax should really be in a pharmacy, this is your chance to get an under-the-hood check of what's going on and getting the feedback of any issues or concerns or, again, things we think you're doing really well with. Get the financial checkup your pharmacy needs and head over to Sykes-CPA.com or call 252-482-7644.

15:29This week in pharmacy, it's been a good week. We're getting ready for the NACDS Total Store Expo, August 15th through 17th in Beantown. Do they call it Beantown anymore? Boston, Massachusetts. Please, if you are there, look us up. We're going to be at the FDB, the First Data Bank booth. We're going to be broadcasting and collecting interviews about the innovators of our chain pharmacies throughout the nation. I can't wait to talk with some of the people that have already signed up. We have a great number of innovators that are coming on the show. So once again, if you are at the NACDS Total Store Expo, please reach out to me.

16:20Let me know that you're going to be there. Let's connect. I love connecting with people. Zoomies are great, Zoom meetings, but it's better to be in front of everyone. Hey, a very, very special episode with Bill Schmitznik coming up next. You are not going to want to miss this. Please, If you have the interwebs at your disposal, everybody does. I want you to share this interview with a fellow state representative or state senator and also your pharmacy state associations. Here's Bill.

17:01Hey, special gathering here on Twerks today. August, what is today? August 14th. I'm not sure if you've heard, if you most of you have, if you listen to twerks is we're progressing with the Coles Act, which is a proposed state legislative measure introduced in Wisconsin aimed at reforming PBMs, pharmacy benefit managers. It was inspired by the tragic death of Cole Schmitz, a 22-year-old who died from an asthma attack after his daily inhaler was suddenly removed from his PBM formulary without any notice, without any warning. And it was causing out-of-pocket costs to skyrocket, which Cole wasn't able to keep up with.

17:51I am so honored to have back on Twerks, Bill Schmitz, Cole's father. Welcome to the show. Thank you, Todd. No, glad to be here. You explained everything very well, and thank you for that. And it's an honor to be back on the show. I'll just say that. You're a great voice. And along with my mission, your show brings such a powerful voice to it. So I'm happy to be here. Well, we want to serve our profession. But more importantly, when I'm serving the profession, we're serving the patient. and for a failure of the system to cause what has been catastrophic for your family is irreprehensible. You can't excuse it.

18:35There's no reason it should be that way. Our healthcare system is bent. It's broke, and we're really trying to make differences. So people like you that have taken such a tragedy and you're applying it to PBM reform, which in my opinion is the worst part of our healthcare system right now based on how much money is sucked through the system that doesn't go to patient care and how models are drastically different. If you look at a chain pharmacy that has its stipulations, and we just heard a story, there's a bunch of pharmacists out there, Bill, who are pissed off that they're being commanded by their ships and lords and commanders to start doing flu shots in July just to have metrics, just to get money.

19:27And it has no idea because they're saying that the time of of getting infected with flu is it's all a timing thing. So if you if you get it too early, it's not going to even do anything for you. And now these commanders at some of these chains are saying, hey, you got to get your flu shots up. And it just doesn't make sense. We know that that has nothing to do with health care. It has everything to do with positioning the part of health care that's the dirtiest, which is, hey, let's make as much money as possible. So give us an update on COAL's Act and how it's progressing in Wisconsin. And what I'm excited about is when we reach the goal line and we get this across the goal line, it's going to impact the rest of the nation.

20:16Yeah, that's exactly it. You know, my entire mission is for COAL and everybody else. I mean, I know that sounds kind of silly, but, you know, I'm going to get justice for my son through many different actions, but I want to make sure no one else gets hurt like him. And Kohl's Act, we started it last year and it didn't happen in Wisconsin. There was a lot of health care interest against us, long and short of it. It passed unanimously in the committees on the Senate side, never got called for a vote. There's a whole bunch of politics behind it, but I don't let that slow me down. And I don't even want to talk about that, honestly, just because we're over it.

20:56It's a fresh start. And for 27, and actually right now, we are bringing Kohl's Act back to the table. What I've gained since I've started this two and a half years ago now, since Kohl's death in January of 24, I've got a great group of people. I've never been very political. Now I have a political action team. I'll just say that. So where we're at essentially is we're working with legislators on both sides, because this is bipartisan. It always has been. Getting commitments for support. And we've got several elected officials, I can't release names yet, of course, in Wisconsin, that have committed to bringing the bill forward again.

21:43The good news is our bill doesn't need to be reconstructed. It's a very strong bill. Like you said, there's protections in there that would help the state of Wisconsin. But just like the other states that have passed PBM reform, it's going to help everybody too, because it's going to be a model to follow to bring transparency to the pharmacy benefit managers and to get them in control. But Coles Act, you know, works on fiduciary responsibilities, and that's something that is very unique out there with the federal protection under the ERISA plans. If we can get this mission going and other things I have going, we are going to change the trajectory of pharmacy benefit manager reform.

22:32Bill, the Coles Act is well written and it has more meat on it than what our listeners might understand. So just quick, the core goals of Coles Act is to stop mid-year formulary changes to prevent PBMs from altering drug coverage tiers or removing medications from formularies without advance notice and medical justification outside of standard renewal periods. And then also it protects patient choice. We've always wanted patient choice. We should not be forced to use a specific pharmacy because of what insurance tells us to do. That doesn't make geographic sense. It doesn't make convenience sense.

23:16It doesn't make accessibility sense when you shove patients into a corral that you force them to use specific pharmacies because of insurance. The protect patient choice part of this would guarantee that patients can use any licensed pharmacy in the state without being penalized or forced into PBM affiliated mail order retail chains. And then something else that I think is pretty thick and makes absolute sense is this fair pharmacy reimbursement. This prohibits PBMs from paying independent and community pharmacies reimbursement rates that sit below the actual cost of filling the prescription and mandate timely reimbursements within 30 days.

24:00The reason why that is important, just for our listeners that might not understand PBM reform, is if you do not reimburse an independent, for example, in a community that that's the only source of health care for miles and miles, you are causing public health harm to that entire area of getting access. And you and I know we've already said this before, Bill, which is it's an absolute shame. If Cole went to an independent pharmacy for that exact situation that was happening and he looked them in the eyes and he's like, listen, I don't have this. Can we get this straightened out later? they would have given him that inhaler and they would have been like all right let's we'll straighten this out a little bit later and it wouldn't have been this hardened corporate bullshit that is like keeping people in corrals like i said it's all about fast food medicine that we have to break out of yeah no that's you said it well said i mean uh and that's that's the thing i mean the nice thing about colzac he said it brings these protections it still allows for certain things to happen.

25:09It doesn't, you know, tell a corporate healthcare, a PBM, that you can't use mail order, but the patient gets to choose. That's the reality of it. You know, this game is so crazy. I mean, like, I'm on some medication myself that I won't buy from my local pharmacy.

25:33And that's all there is to it. I mean, like, it's they lose too much money. That's the reality of it. I mean, like, so I sometimes have to use mail order myself, but I choose to do it, you know, until I can get a safer alternative, you know, I mean, like, but that's the way it should be. I shouldn't have to play these games. I'm fortunate that I know the way how to play the game, because I've had to learn it since my son's dead. And it's sad in this country that I have to play a game to get my medicine and other people don't know how to play and they get hurt. And it's got to stop. It will stop.

26:09And there's so many good advocates out there. We've got stuff happening at the national level also, which just passed out a committee 40 to 2, some pharmacy benefit manager reform at the federal level on the Medicaid programs and employees. But everything that happens is bringing forward change, and it's all going to trickle down. And when I started this a couple years ago, I was told whether I like it or not, the federal stuff has to be addressed first to get Congress to act. And I didn't like it. But you know what? It's happening. It's taking a little bit longer. But it is happening. We have made the most progression in many ways on pharmacy benefit manager reform.

26:57And, you know, in Wisconsin, we've got I don't want to put the cart before the horse in any shake. But I but I do feel our obstacles from last year are not obstacles this year. And we should be trudging forward. And there's a lot of agendas going on for 27 in Wisconsin. And Kohl's Act will be at the top of the list. That's awesome. Bill, we are so proud of you. You have the force of the Pharmacy Podcast Network behind you. If you ever want to jump on any of the 40 shows that would tie into some of these issues, you have access. I want to give a shout out to Pharmacists United for truth and transparency.

27:38The putt group has been absolutely phenomenal. I feel like they're one of the street fighters out there that don't play the polite game. They're like they're going to slug you in the face. So I really enjoy it. Well, they're going to get it done. And they're not going to stop either because, A, Pharmacists United has a lot of pharmacists behind the scenes that help the organization and they feel the pain just like the people out there trying to protect and they're a great organization and they've got great connections and uh you know from everything that's going on um from pharmacy benefit manager reform the monopolies act the uh tricare hearings uh put's been a force with everything so it's awesome it is awesome yeah we want to talk more about tricare whether it'll be on a an upcoming episode of this week in pharmacy hey hold on listeners we're going to be doing twerks news coming up next i want to say thank you god bless to you um bill you and your family and everything that you guys have gone through like i said you will always have the pods here at your disposal and uh we hope to have you back soon great thank you todd i appreciate this and i will talk to you soon and um thank you thank you Thank you.

29:27we are tracking pbm reform all over the nation on twerks news from axios just this week in pharmacy more employers are dropping the largest pbms once again this is axios news which was published this week august 12th it goes on to say that more corporations are cutting ties with the three biggest pharmacy benefit managers in striking deals with smaller rivals to help manage their drug costs. A new survey from the National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalition's found why it matters. Well, first of all, the findings are the latest sign of a shift underway in employer-sponsored healthcare as companies grapple with soaring health costs in a threat of worker lawsuits tied to how well they manage plans.

30:24And what they found is not shocking to any of our listeners. They went into a survey of 408 employers conducted in May and June found that nearly half, 46%, were using a PBM other than the three big ones. The culprits that have caused all of this issue are CPS Caremark, OptumRx, and ExpressGrips. Shame on ExpressGrips, by the way, as a side shame for what they're doing to our veterans and keeping care from our veterans through TRICARE. We'll talk more about that. 56 % of those still using one of the big three indicated they were considering making a change in the next three years. 31 % of the companies using alternatives to the larger BBMs are considering a change.

31:19And employers project a 7.7 % increase in their health cost next year. Costs keep going up. CARE does not get better from any of these three organizations that once again siphon the money over and over and over again. Very frustrating. and we're tired of it, very tired of it. So if your state is involved in PBM reform, if you have a state representative that you could suggest for the show, we do have a show that's 100 % dedicated to PBM reform. The PBM reform podcast came out in 2019. It's the leading podcast about PBM reform and we're sponsored by APCI. And the host is Greg Reibold. He's a lawyer.

32:16He understands the business. He's been part of independent community pharmacy for years. And APCI has members that are pouring so much of their resources, time and money into national PBM reform. Very excited about what's happening. And shout out to APCI. Thank you so much for your support of the show, PBM Reform Podcast. Hey, next up on Twerk's News, has anybody heard of iPledge? That's lowercase i and then pledge. Risk Evaluation Mitigation Strategy are known as REMS. This program was put out by the FDA, originally implemented in early 2005 and approved as the iPledge REMS in 2010. and the goal of iPledge REMS is to mitigate the risk of embryo fetal toxicity.

33:12It is a shared system REMS, meaning that it's included in all FDA approved products. It provides a centralized system for prescribers, pharmacies, and patients to manage patient risk regardless of the product being used. Read up on this. They are putting implementation of the iPledge REMS modifications. It's been delayed until November, and it was originally supposed to take place with the new modifications as of June 16th, 2026. Shout out to Dr. Daniel Plummer, who does our Maternal RX podcast. I'm going to reach out to her and see if we can get more information on I pledge REMS, risk evaluation and mitigation strategies.

34:06We are excited about this weekend. It's a work weekend for me. If it's a work weekend for you, shout out to all of our pharmacy technicians and pharmacists having to work the weekend. We will be in Boston. Please come see us at NACDS Total Store Expo. Go to LinkedIn if you want to get a hold of me or just email me, my last name, Uri, E-U-R-Y at PharmacyPodcast.com. Once again, that's E-U-R-Y at PharmacyPodcast.com. Hey, you guys are doing amazing things. Please, I know how frustrated there are certain sectors of our pharmacy industry can be. Anything that you need, investigations, stories being told, coming on to Torx, this is your show.

35:01This is your This Week in Pharmacy. So thank you so much for everything you do. Wishing you a fantastic weekend. We'll see you in Boston.

35:14Thank you.