Key Legislative Committees..................... 6

Majority of Consumers Want Pharmacy Access to Continue

RAN Staff Report

The National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) released a survey in December confirming a majority of Americans believe “Learning the lessons of the pandemic means keeping in place policies that make it easier for patients to access services from pharmacists and other pharmacy team members – including vaccinations.” During the pandemic, Nevada pharmacies were given new authority, through emergency orders, to self-regulate from certain regulatory restraints to allow them to provide the patient services that the pharmacist can provide. One of the biggest changes was the ability to adjust staffing ratios, and the added support staff enabled the pharmacist to get out from behind the counter and provide other clinical services for patients. The Nevada State Board of Pharmacy has declined to make permanent any of the changes once the pandemic waivers were rescinded. NACDS President and CEO Steven C. Anderson wrote to the Biden Administration, “If this capacity goes away, Americans’ vaccination experience will be characterized by lack of access, especially for children and families, longer wait times and frustration. The current ‘triple-demic’ of COVID-19, flu, and RSV demonstrates that our nation will continue to experience spikes in vaccination demand.” NACDS reports that pharmacies continue to administer two in every three COVID-19 vaccinations, totaling nearly 300 million administered, and more than 40% of vaccinations provided are in underserved areas. n

About the poll methodology: Morning Consult conducted this poll between December 7-December 12, 2022, among a sample of 20,010 Adults. The interviews were conducted online and the data were weighted to approximate a target sample of Adults based on gender, age, race, educational attainment, and region. Results from the full survey have a margin of error of plus or minus 1 percentage point. NACDS commissioned the poll.

Amazon Pilots Supply Chain Visibility Tool Amazon Web Services (AWS) unveiled a new cloud application last month with the goal of improving supply chain visibility and assisting users in responding to shifting market conditions. Users can pool their data from many systems into a centralized “supply chain data lake” that regulates, interprets, and stores data in real time using the pay-as-you-go method. According to the press release, the AWS system is currently preview-ready in Northern Virginia, Oregon, and Frankfurt, Germany, with further availability “coming soon.” Among the companies adopting the new platform are Whole Foods, Traeger Grills, and Lifetime Brands.

Retail Dive

Target Ranks High For InStore Holiday Shopping According to a poll conducted by Jungle Scout, 29% of respondents shop at Target for instore purchases, second to Walmart at 56. More than two-thirds of online Christmas shoppers (67%) shop at Amazon, followed by Walmart.com (36%), and Target.com (18%). More than half (57%) of respondents said they shopped on Black Friday this year, while 43% shopped on Cyber Monday. The survey stated that 34% of shoppers made their holiday purchases during Amazon Prime’s Early Access sale in October, followed by 32% who shopped during Walmart’s Rollback Sale and 22% who shopped during Target Deal Days. In addition, of the 33% of shoppers who are limiting their holiday costs, 59% are reducing their Christmas gift budget and 20% are purchasing less holiday decorations.

National News

Retail Dive

24-Hour Same-Day Delivery Launched By Walgreens Walgreens will be expanding 24-hour sameday delivery service to almost 400 locations, allowing shoppers to buy more than 27,000 goods for delivery in an hour or less. Customers can also get their medications delivered the same day through the Walgreens app or by contacting the pharmacy, with delivery rates varying by location.

Grocery Dive Inflation Dips in November According to the Consumer Price Index, inflation fell in November, reaching its lowest level in a year. Prices grew 7.1% annually in November, down from 7.7% in October. The November CPI rate marked the fifthstraight monthly decline and beat the economists’ expectations of 7.3%. It was the lowest reading since December 2021 and a huge improvement on this year’s peak rate of 9.1% in June. The news comes as the Federal Reserve begins its final two-day policy making meeting of the year, during which officials will scrutinize important economic statistics to see if their aggressive rate hikes have begun to cool the economy and bring down decadeshigh inflation.

CNN

Grocery Prices Continue to Rise As Inflation Dips Food inflation is once again surpassing general inflation. Food became 10.6% more expensive in the year through November, with grocery prices up 12% and restaurant prices rising 8.5%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. During the same time span, total inflation increased by 7.1%. CNN Shoppers Are More Selective In Consequence of Inflation According to Walmart CEO

According to Walmart CEO Doug McMillon, the American shopper is still “stressed” by inflation, and the consequences aren’t being felt evenly across categories. McMillon claims that shoppers are becoming pickier in their purchasing, foregoing some electronics in favor of essentials. Walmart is one of many retailers seeing a shift in customer behavior as inflation drives up the cost of food, housing, and other necessities.

Amazon Delays Some New Hires

In an effort to conserve money, Amazon has delayed graduate hire start dates from May until the end of next year. The decision, which an Amazon spokesperson confirmed, was made in the midst of an industrywide cost-cutting initiative. Graduates were given a onetime payment of $13,000 regardless of whether they took the postponed employment or not. The decision’s impact on how many graduates is unclear. Financial Times

Important Information for SIG Members

NRS requires all existing members of a self-insured group to be notified of all new members. NRNSIG new members are listed below.

Shining “K” Meats LLC Heat Exchange LLC Nevada PF LLC dba Nevada PF/Front Sight Management Sahara Home Healthcare Inc dba 1Care Home Health Care Familian Partners Inc dba Familian Construction Partners

NRNSIG members who wish to register a negative vote on a new group member, please write NRNSIG at 575 S. Saliman Road, Carson City, NV 89701, indicating which member and the reason(s) for the negative vote.

“Workers’ comp that works for you”

Retail Association of Nevada

Membership Information: Find out more about RAN’s self insured group. Call Pro Group, 800-859-3177, or the RAN office at 775-882-1700 (toll free in Nevada 800-690-5959). Don’t forget to check out our website, www.RANNV.org.