WEST DES MOINES, Iowa — As senior vice president of government relations and corporate compliance for Hy-Vee, Stacey Johnson oversees all of Hy-Vee’s government relations activities, leads corporate compliance and guides the company’s community and diversity initiatives.

“By building relationships with local and federal lawmakers, our government relations team has the ability to advocate on behalf of Hy-Vee’s interests to bring change in how we operate and expand the number of services we can provide our customers,” said Johnson.

Most recently, Johnson and her team have worked closely with federal and state lawmakers to address the significant impacts of rising direct and indirect remuneration (DIR) fees, which are imposed on retail pharmacies by pharmacy benefit managers.

“DIR fees and PBM tactics continue to have a devastating impact on retail pharmacies and our customers, especially in our rural communities,” said Johnson. “By working together with other industry partners and legislators, we helped pass PBM reform in Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska and Wisconsin over the past year, which is a step in the right direction.”

Stacey Johnson

Hy-Vee’s efforts, alongside those of other industry groups, also yielded strengthened bipartisan efforts that would ban unfair pricing schemes, prohibit arbitrary clawbacks of payments made to pharmacies, and require PBMs to report to the Federal Trade Commission how much money they made through spread pricing and pharmacy fees.

Johnson and her team have also been integral in expanding access to health care, especially in rural areas where medical practices have grown scarce.

“Through our legislative work, we have helped expand the scope of practice for retail pharmacists and technicians, so they can practice at the top of their licenses and perform functions like administering tests, interpreting results and prescribing treatment,” said Johnson.

Thanks to Hy-Vee’s strategic relationships with federal officials, Hy-Vee was one of only two grocery retailers invited to ­participate in the 2022 White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health. There, Hy-Vee pledged to provide 30 million meals to food insecure Americans and teach proper nutrition to 100,000 residents who live in food deserts.

As part of her role, Johnson forges partnerships with nonprofits across the Midwest to provide corporate financial support, as well as career and educational opportunities for diverse populations served by these ­organizations.

“We are invested in our communities and work closely with our nonprofit partners to host job fairs, job shadows, internships and mentorship opportunities throughout our markets,” said Johnson.

Johnson also oversees the Hy-Vee OpportUNITY Inclusive Business Summits, which first launched in 2022. These events, hosted in four of Hy-Vee’s major markets over the past year, averaged 300 attendees at each event and awarded $200,000 in seed money to minority- or women-owned businesses through a pitch competition. Several of the winning products are now carried in Hy-Vee retail stores.