NACDS urges Congress to preserve TRICARE pharmacy oversight provisions in the Fiscal Year 2027 NDAA.

The National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) has submitted a statement for the record to the U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services Subcommittee on Personnel ahead of today's hearing on the TRICARE Pharmacy Program, urging Congress and the Department of Defense to strengthen beneficiary access, patient choice, competition, transparency, accountability, and long-term value for taxpayers as the Department prepares for the next generation of the TRICARE pharmacy contract.

NACDS said that opportunity is immediate, applauding the inclusion of TRICARE pharmacy oversight provisions in both the House and Senate versions of the Fiscal Year 2027 National Defense Authorization Act and encouraging Congress to preserve those provisions during conference negotiations. Limited visibility into the current pharmacy contract, NACDS said, has made it harder for Congress, the Department of Defense, beneficiaries, and pharmacy stakeholders to evaluate policy improvements that could strengthen access, choice, accountability, and value for military families and taxpayers.

"The TRICARE Pharmacy Program succeeds when it delivers what military families deserve: timely access to medications, meaningful choice among pharmacy options, transparent and accountable program administration, and responsible stewardship of taxpayer resources," said NACDS President and CEO Steven C. Anderson, FASAE, CAE, IOM. "Retail pharmacies are essential partners in achieving these objectives. They support medication access, adherence, continuity of care, beneficiary satisfaction, and military readiness."

The statement cites polling conducted by Morning Consult, and commissioned by NACDS, among TRICARE beneficiaries between April 8-17, 2026, which found:

• 82 percent support a proposal to allow TRICARE members to choose to fill brand-name prescriptions at local retail pharmacies or drugstores.
• 86 percent agree that it is important for TRICARE benefits to be accessed at local and private establishments.
• 71 percent believe that being able to access their prescriptions at local pharmacies would make filling prescriptions easier.

NACDS said the findings should be an important consideration in future program design, showing that TRICARE beneficiaries value the convenience, trust, face-to-face care, and same-day medication access that retail pharmacies provide. Future benefit design should preserve meaningful beneficiary choice, NACDS said, noting that retail pharmacies, mail order, and military treatment facilities each play important roles in the TRICARE pharmacy benefit. NACDS added that one important step would be restoring beneficiaries' ability to obtain covered brand-name maintenance medications through retail pharmacies.

"For military families, retirees, and survivors, timely access to medications is not merely a matter of convenience," Anderson said. "It is a core component of healthcare quality and beneficiary confidence."

As the Department of Defense considers the next generation of the TRICARE pharmacy contract, NACDS urged policymakers to strengthen the program through:

• Greater transparency throughout the pharmacy benefit, including contract performance, pharmacy reimbursement methodologies, network adequacy standards, pharmacy participation, beneficiary satisfaction metrics, pricing methodologies, audit findings, performance guarantees, and contractor accountability.

• Fair and sustainable pharmacy reimbursement, with methodologies that are transparent, predictable, and based on pharmacies' acquisition costs plus an appropriate professional dispensing fee.

• Promotion of competition throughout the pharmacy benefit, encouraging robust participation by retail pharmacies while preserving meaningful beneficiary choice.

• Modernization of the pharmacy benefit, recognizing the expanding clinical role of retail pharmacists and ensuring the benefit evolves alongside beneficiary expectations, advances in pharmacy practice, and the Department of Defense's long-term healthcare objectives.

NACDS added that greater transparency would strengthen Congressional oversight, improve procurement decisions, and help ensure that taxpayers receive maximum value from the pharmacy benefit - and that sustainable reimbursement is essential to maintaining a robust nationwide retail pharmacy network and ensuring continued beneficiary access.

"Access, choice, transparency, accountability, competition, and taxpayer value are not competing priorities. Together, they define a stronger, more beneficiary-centered TRICARE Pharmacy Program," Anderson said. "NACDS is committed to working with Congress and the Department of Defense to build a stronger, more transparent, more sustainable, and more beneficiary-centered TRICARE Pharmacy Program for the future."