This is an excellent, sober look at why PBMs have emerged as a centerpiece of the national drug pricing debate. Lots of blame to go around at all levels but impossible avoid the harsh realities of how PBMs have distorted the market Fred de Sam Lazaro pbs.org/newshour/show/…

'...in 2021 PBMs kept $752 million (13%) of manufacturers' rebates, and passed through 87% to their affiliated insurance companies. What percentage of rebates were passed through to patients? Zero point two percent (0.2%)...'
tennessean.com/story/opinion/… via @tennessean

#PBM reform advances out of committee! Our ATAP coalition is supporting the bill to sever the link between drug prices and PBM income, correcting one of the main underlying perverse incentives driving up patient costs.

ATAP's Statement on Modernizing and Ensuring PBM Accountability Act
Ron Wyden Senator Mike Crapo
'...this bill will begin to fix a deeply broken market that has enabled profiteering at the expense of patients and community pharmacies...'
atapadvocates.com/atap-news/2023…

'... Their dominance in the health care space allows them to make enormous profits instead of keeping consumer costs down....'

Roff: Price controls pad drug profits news-journal.com/opinion/roff-p… via Longview News-Journal

'...The vote to withdraw prior PBM advocacy was 3-0.

According to the FTC, its PBM study will scrutinize the impact of vertically integrated pharmacy benefit managers on the access and affordability of prescription drugs...'

healthcarefinancenews.com/news/ftc-withd…

'...perverse incentive leads to terrible results...'

Read ATAP's Letter to Senate Finance Committee supporting Modernizing and Ensuring PBM Accountability Act.
atapadvocates.com/atap-news/2023…

“...The fundamental effect of these comments” against state PBM bills “was basically to put the PBMs in a regulatory free zone, fundamentally like giving Tony Soprano a ‘Get Out of Jail Free’ card...”
- David Balto
news.bloomberglaw.com/health-law-and…

Be sure to check out the 2023 16th Annual Rheumatology Nurses Society Conference, August 2-5, in Austin, Texas!
Rheumatology Nurses
rnsnurse.org/upcoming-2023-…

Congress must rein in pharmacy benefit managers to lower healthcare costs washingtonexaminer.com/restoring-amer…
Buddy Carter

Congress Combatting PBMs Perverse Incentives to Keep Costs High dcjournal.com/congress-comba…

To lower Rx prices, patients must come before profits. Please co-sponsor the #PBM Act to delink #PBM profits from Rx pricing.Rick Scott Marco Rubio U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. John Kennedy U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith Senator Roger Wicker Sen. James Lankford Markwayne Mullin finance.senate.gov/chairmans-news…

'... a more accountable and transparent PBM industry has the potential to save employers billions of dollars and lead to more affordable drug costs and insurance for employees and their families....'

benefitnews.com/advisers/opini…

'...PBMs have been allowed to hide in the shadows. It’s time to bring them into the light...' James Comer CASE

Congress needs to keep the heat on PBMs chronicleonline.com/opinion/column… via Citrus County Chronicle

OPPORTUNITY FOR ACTION: CSRO urges the House Committee on Education & the Workforce to put patients first and pass the #SafeStepAct . Join us in taking action by asking your reps to support #HR2630 today! votervoice.net/CSRO/Campaigns…

SENATORS’ PROTECT PATIENT ACCESS TO PHARMACIES ACT BRINGS ACCOUNTABILITY TO PBMS, PROTECT PATIENTS AND SMALL BUSINESSES tester.senate.gov/newsroom/press…

'...Instead of fighting for lower prices, this practice has encouraged drug middlemen to favor higher-priced drugs in their negotiations, which means seniors are forced to pay more for their prescriptions...'
- Ron Wyden
fiercehealthcare.com/payers/another…

'...This conflict of interest gives PBMs a financial incentive to favor certain drugs over others, which ultimately leads to higher costs for patients and insurers and gives PBMs the ability to restrict patient access to certain drugs or pharmacies...'
orlandosentinel.com/2023/06/22/gov…

‘It’s beyond unethical’:

Opaque conflicts of interest permeate prescription drug benefits

statnews.com/2023/06/20/pbm…

Bob Herman STAT

'Just a handful of PBMs control the prescription benefits of the vast majority of those who are commercially insured, but which of those companies is in charge can make a significant difference...' Madelaine Feldman CSRO
investigatetv.com/2023/06/12/per…