The Public Affairs team at McKesson manages the international, national, state and local public policy strategies of the corporation, including legislative and regulatory activities specific to our operations and interests. By virtue of our span across all settings of care, McKesson has a 360 degree view of healthcare and serves as a resource to government officials in areas of healthcare policy where we have years of expertise and a “real world” perspective. By helping to provide solutions to challenging healthcare issues, we are able to educate policymakers on business concerns ranging from pharmaceutical distribution to healthcare information technology and the impact of public policy initiatives on our customers and the delivery of healthcare.

Our Public Policy Issues

As the largest distributor of pharmaceuticals and medical-surgical supplies in North America and the largest health information technology (IT) company in the world, McKesson is actively engaged in the safe and efficient delivery of products and the transformation of healthcare from a system burdened by paper to one empowered by interoperable electronic solutions. These solutions improve patient safety, reduce the cost and variability of care and improve the quality and efficiency of healthcare delivery. We view public policy issues through this prism and support government actions and opportunities that improve:

• Safe, cost-effective and rapid distribution of pharmaceutical and medical supplies;
• Access to pharmaceutical products at reasonable costs;
• Effective care management
• Delivery of quality and improved patient care through the use of innovative health information technology solutions

McKesson maintains leadership positions in selected federal, state, and local trade associations and business organizations. The Public Affairs team provides counsel to business unit presidents who serve on the boards of those organizations. These industry/business coalitions enable us to successfully promote collective business objectives and advance a public policy agenda in conjunction with other companies that share similar goals and interests.

Regulatory Affairs

Directed by the Public Affairs Department, the company-wide Regulatory Affairs Council promotes the development of a coordinated corporate strategy on regulatory issues of importance to McKesson. The council is comprised of managers from our business units who have responsibility for implementing or responding to regulatory developments. A primary goal of the council is to increase intra-company awareness of regulatory issues and ensure a coordinated position on critical issues.

Lobbying and Advocacy

Our team builds and supports congressional and legislative relationships and advocates policies at all levels of government that will improve healthcare delivery, quality and systems. McKesson retains contract lobbyists in Washington, D.C., and in multiple state capitols to provide insight into emerging issues as well as current legislative and regulatory initiatives, and to assist McKesson in proactively influencing the outcome of these public policy issues.

Political Engagement

McKesson Corp. provides corporate contributions to statewide candidates where permitted by law. The distribution of those contributions is managed by the Public Affairs Department, which also administers the company’s political action committee (PAC, which is known as the McKesson Corp. Employees Political Fund). A Board of Trustees, comprising McKesson executives from major business units, manages the PAC, which was launched in 1980 to protect and advocate McKesson’s business interests by supporting federal congressional candidates who understand our issues and share our vision for the future of healthcare.

All information on McKesson PAC contributions is available on the Federal Election Commission website at www.fec.gov. For more information regarding our public policy strategies, please email publicaffairs@mckesson.com.