PBM tactics “jeopardize pharmacies of all sizes and in all areas” and “further limit access to care”
Saul Anuzis, president of the 60 Plus Association, has posted an opinion piece that urges the U.S. Congress to translate bipartisan momentum for “PBM” reform into results, saying: “It is time to finish the job for seniors and all Americans – and do so in the right way.”
Anuzis says of PBMs, the pharmaceutical middlemen: “PBMs too often manipulate patient access to pharmacies and medications while keeping the negotiated drug discounts to pad their ever-growing profits.”
As the U.S. Senate Finance Committee prepares for a November 8 legislative markup, the 60 Plus Association’s opinion piece makes several key points – many of which take on claims of “an army of PBM lobbyists who will not accept reform without a fight.” The piece states:
- “PBM special interests have worked actively to frame themselves as standing up against the big pharmaceutical companies as the champions of patients, while working simultaneously behind the scenes to shrink the pool of patients that will benefit from reform – with some advocating for the exclusion of the 57 million American seniors on Medicare.”
- “PBMs have been largely unobstructed as they pocketed savings that belonged to patients and chose their pharmacy for them. They also have been free to dictate the price patients paid at the counter, further driving up prescription drug costs. And PBMs certainly have taken their opportunities to ratchet down pharmacy reimbursement to levels that jeopardize pharmacies of all sizes and in all areas, and that further limit access to care.”
- “Real reform is within reach, and it is bipartisan and achievable in an otherwise partisan environment. It is about patients – all patients, and Congress simply cannot let this chance slip away. Seniors are watching closely to ensure that PBM reform includes patients on Medicare – and Medicaid for that matter. PBM reform in name only will not be true reform if it fails to benefit the very patients who need it most.”
