Public Policy at McKesson

With our 360-degree view of the healthcare landscape, we recognize that we have a responsibility to participate in the public policy process. McKesson’s Public Affairs team builds and maintains working relationships with officials at every level of government for the benefit of patients.

OUR PUBLIC POLICY VISION
The Patient Comes First
McKesson’s public policy efforts put patients first. We believe that the first step toward better health is making sure people have access to high-quality and affordable care. We also work to ensure that patients have the information they need to manage their own health effectively and make informed choices about their care.

How do we approach healthcare public policy?

Our corporate Public Affairs team operates at the intersection of healthcare, public policy and politics on behalf of McKesson. We establish and strengthen relationships with federal, state and local elected and government officials.

When we engage with legislators and regulators, we educate them on McKesson’s operations, our role in healthcare and the unique perspective we offer. Through tours of our distribution centers and visits to pharmacy and hospital customers, we highlight the many ways McKesson delivers better health across the country.

We also participate in trade associations, industry groups and professional organizations to build key relationships that we can use in our public policy work.

Learn more about our political engagement.

Which public policies do we support?

Access to affordable medicines

Stronger community providers. New payment models. Healthcare technology. They can all go a long way to making sure people can access and afford the treatments they need. In our public policy work in this area, we advocate for these and other advances that will help achieve this goal.

Connecting the healthcare landscape

Benefit and cost transparency, along with the “un-siloing” or portability of patients’ data, are essential elements to ensuring patient choice, reducing healthcare costs, and improving outcomes.

Promoting community healthcare providers

In the U.S., a shortage of primary care providers and an aging population means quality healthcare can be difficult to access in some areas. We believe community practices and independent pharmacies can play a key role in filling this gap and ensuring patients get the care they need.

Addressing healthcare disparities

Health equity means everyone has an equal opportunity to live healthy lives. In order to achieve this for every patient, we must end the disparities and inequities impacting patient access, quality of care and outcomes.

Preparing for future emergencies

McKesson’s prominent role in pandemic response has allowed us to observe and develop critical considerations for preparing and responding to future public health emergencies.

Here’s what we believe

The patient comes first

We should never compromise patient access or quality of care.

Free market competition lowers prices

We need to foster a robust, competitive marketplace, including accelerated regulatory approval pathways for generics and breakthrough drugs.

Informed patients make better consumers

We should empower patients to make informed personal choices based on both clinical benefit and cost.

Patient costs matter

We must ensure that patients directly benefit from any savings in the healthcare system.

We should reward for value

The total cost of care and positive outcomes for patients should drive reimbursement policies.

We need sustainable solutions

We must foster system-wide reform, not simply short-term fixes.

RESOURCES
Fighting the Opioid Epidemic
Learn about our innovative security programs, order-monitoring initiatives and policy recommendations to help curb the opioid epidemic.
Learn more
OUR VALUES
Corporate Responsibility
We focus on the issues that matter most, guided by our ICARE shared principles: Integrity, Customer First, Accountability, Respect and Excellence. Learn how we’re working toward better health for our planet and people everywhere.
Read our CSR report (PDF, 11 MB)
SPECIALTY PUBLIC AFFAIRS
Specialty Practice Public Policy
The Specialty Provider Public Policy team supports all specialty areas, including oncology, neurology, gastroenterology, rheumatology, urology, and ophthalmology. Team members do this through direct advocacy, political engagement, policy analysis and information sharing.
Our specialty public affairs work
Our Public Affairs Work

Promoting Community Healthcare Providers McKesson is committed to promoting diverse settings of care and supporting community healthcare providers.
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Public Policies to Ensure Access to Affordable Medicines The challenge: how do we address rising healthcare costs without compromising patient access and quality of care?
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Preparing for Emergencies Our public policy recommendations to ensure patients get the medicines and supplies they need during states of emergency.
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Health Equity Health equity means everyone has an equal opportunity to live healthy lives.
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Improving Connectivity in Healthcare We are committed to creating a healthcare system that leverages technology to empower patients.
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