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Bloomberg Audio Studios. Podcasts, radio, news. We also continue to monitor different things that come out of the White House, and they certainly have made some comments when it comes to health care, pharmaceuticals in the United States, which is one of the reasons we want to really get to our next guest. Good X. Good RX, I should say. They recently reported earnings, just a little bit of background. Shares did jump after the drug pricing comparison software company. They did boost their guidance for adjusted EBITDA for the
full year following better than expected results for the first quarter. We did see analysts saying some of them that the EBITDA beat and raised as a good start to 2025 for the company. Let's get into the business and how White House policies are impacting GoodRx. Wendy Barnes is president and CEO of the company. She joins us from Charlotte, North Carolina. The company, by the way, market capital is about $1.4 billion, shares $2
year-to-date are down about 12%. They're down more than 50% though in the past year. Wendy, good to have you here with us. There's a lot going on in your space, but I want to talk first and start with a new initiative that you guys have actually introduced today. It's called the Community Links Program. Why did you do this? What was the impetus for creating it?
Hi, Carol. Thanks for having me. I appreciate the question. So, you know, I would say the company's been on a multi-year journey to best partner with retail pharmacies, with community pharmacies really being at the top of that list.
And this is really the culmination of that work. And so what you've referenced, the GoodRx Community Link, is a portal by which community pharmacies sometimes referred to as independent pharmacies. So think of those as really your non-chain pharmacies. They can be as small as a single pharmacy.
or some community independent pharmacy owners have 50, 75 or 100 locations, but largely they're run independent of a broader management philosophy. And this is our effort to contract directly with these pharmacies.
in a cost plus reimbursement mechanism manner. Look, it's not any new news to you or probably to your listeners that pharmacies continue to be under reimbursement pressure.
And we believe that they are key partners in our broader mission to make medications more affordable and accessible for every American. And so this effort is really one in which we're trying to bolster reimbursement for those independent pharmacies such that they can work with us directly. And in addition to that, we're giving them access to 90 plus brand deals that we have secured.
with pharmaceutical manufacturers over the last 12 to 24 months and those continue to grow such that the reimbursement on those same drugs is favorable to those pharmacies. It's really no secret that pharmacies have long struggled to have a favorable margin profile on many brands that they fill and this too gives access to those programs for those independent pharmacies.
Well, Wendy, anecdotally speaking, as the large pharmacies and the chains have come under pressure, whether it's over store closures or different things happening just in the space, we've all reported on what's happened in cities and the way that some of these pharmacies have closed down in certain cities. Are you seeing more people go to these independent pharmacies?
I mean, anecdotally speaking, I can say that certainly the way my family has changed its behavior, just thanks to availability and what pharmacies tend to actually have what we're looking for. But how have you seen that affect the overall landscape?
I don't know that we've seen a meaningful shift to independent from chain. I think there's still a pretty good mix of grocer versus independent versus chain and candidly, you know, mail order slash digital pharmacy. I think at the end of the day, what we see is in the 70 plus odd thousand pharmacy options that we have as consumers in the U.S.,
that as a consumer, you just really want to get your drugs on your own terms, whether it's mail to your home with your preferred community pharmacist or at a chain or grocer. And we pride ourselves on working really with all pharmacies such that you can get your drugs when and where you desire to do so.
Do you see at all that the independent channel is shrinking? We've certainly seen it with some of the big pharmacy chains, right? We've talked about it. You've seen the headlines. But I'm just curious, when it comes to independence, Wendy, do you see any shrinkage in terms of the number of outlets that are out there or no?
You know, I will say in the numbers that we've looked at over the last couple of years, there are still a good number opening in any given month. I will say in our book with the pharmacies that we work with, I haven't seen significant shrinkage, but I think there are certainly other data sources that would suggest that there are a number of independent and or community pharmacies that are closing and or selling their business to other owners. But in our particular book, it's held pretty steady.
How have independents traditionally reacted to the program at GoodRx? Because it's our understanding they've been a little skeptical about it. How do you make sure that they're embracing it rather than treating it with skepticism?
Sure. Well, I think, you know, look, it's early days to be clear, and we're going to be on a journey here. Communication is going to be the, you know, the biggest part of this program, in addition to delivering what we said we intend to deliver, which is fair economics over the course of these contractual agreements as pharmacies agree to contract with us directly. And that, again, can all be conveyed through that portal that we stood up
This morning so for me it's really going to be about how we deliver on the reimbursement mechanism through this partnership and I think you know the ongoing communication will support
how the pharmacy community embraces this over time. You know, we've certainly been sending out communications early on. We've been in dialogue with many independent pharmacy owners to speak through the program. But I think at the end of the day, it's really going to be the outcome of the program and the economics that we deliver that will prove it out over time.
Well, that's where I want to kind of just dig a little bit deeper, Wendy. You know, for this to work for you guys, this new rollout, this Community Links program, the economics have to work right for the independent pharmacy. So I'm just curious what you can tell us how the economics are different for the pharmacy that directly contacts with GoodRx.
versus using maybe one of the pharmacy benefit managers, the PBMs, and their networks to dispense a prescription? What can you tell us more specifically about the economic advantage for independent pharmacies to use your route versus going to the PBMs?
Sure, happy to do so. So it's really the agreement directly with us is rooted on a NADAC plus reimbursement. So NADAC is one of multiple benchmarks that is effectively a cost mechanism. It stands for National Average Drug Acquisition Cost. And
And we are negotiating with independent pharmacies to do this with that predicated as the baseline plus an amount that keeps them profitable on filling these claims. So that's really the precursor, if you will, and or the meat of how this agreement will work.
which again provides favorable economics to these pharmacies. The distinction, Carol, as you called out to perhaps doing it through a larger payer, when you think about how it works through, let's just say a larger PDM, there are multiple patient pay slash cash networks through which an independent pharmacy can participate. And when they're in that type of an algorithm for lack of better description,
Typically, it's going to search for not necessarily favorable margin for the pharmacy. And so there would be times in their previous arrangement whereby they may not always have favorable economics to fill those prescriptions. And by contracting directly...
we are putting terms and conditions in the agreement that allow them to have certainty around not only the reimbursement but also access to drugs that they're not fulfilling today in patient pay programs again that would be the list of brands that I mentioned that I believe are 90 plus at this point so they're going to have certainty around how they're reimbursed in this direct engagement through us that they're not getting through their arrangements today
Hey, Wendy, we're watching everything happening outside of Washington and coming out of Washington really closely. We're expected to hear from the president in just a few minutes. There's an event happening in the Oval Office that's about a kid account event scheduled. It was scheduled for 2 p.m. We understand the press pool has gathered. If the president starts to take questions, we will certainly go there. In the meantime, thinking about health care in the United States, it is inextricably bound to politics. And no question,
If the what the president calls the big, beautiful bill were to pass, we could see, at least according to the CBO, estimates of a dramatic increase in the number of uninsured, almost eight million. What does that mean for your business and how much of your business comes from Medicaid and uninsured people today?
So interestingly, of the users who access our pricing on any given day, roughly 90% actually have insurance today. So I think there's a bit of a misperception that the overwhelming number of consumers who use us in fact don't have insurance, which is not the case. Having said that, who does come and look for pricing through our different platforms?
is your consumer who's motivated to check for competitive pricing, whether they have insurance or not. And we continue to be the number one platform to look for the best price deal that you can find on any particular medication. So as it pertains to what may or may not pass in the bill, whether it's inclusive of Medicaid cuts, which continue to be advanced, and or other cuts that would put
pressure on your typical household income, what we do know is that those should produce tailwinds for us as a business for consumers, whether they're insured or not. But specifically as it relates to Medicaid cuts and the number of individuals that may fall out of coverage, we do believe that that presents an opportunity for us to continue to support any American that really is struggling to purchase their medications.
Wendy, just got 30 seconds. You know, the word that we all use to describe the environment right now is uncertain. There's a lot coming at certainly leaders and CEOs. Just in your industry, too, you've got Rite Aid doing a bankruptcy. You know, I think about the macro within your business and just macro overall. Just got about 25 seconds. How do you look at the outlook? Just quickly.
You know, the outlook, you're right. Turbulent is a fair description, having said that, businesses that stay the course and have a mission that makes sense for the consumers in which we serve will continue to thrive. And our goal, of course, is getting medication affordably and effectively into the hands of every American who need it. And we believe we'll be in a position to take advantage. Wendy Barnes, President and CEO of GoodRx.
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