It is indisputable that the prescription drug pricing system is in desperate need of reform. Out-of-pocket costs for medicines are going up even as net prices continue to decline. This discontinuity alone demonstrates why Congress should pass meaningful PBM reform that addresses the growing use of GPOs.
The conclusion of the longest government shutdown in history and rising political acrimony rightly receives a great deal of attention but this focus makes it easy to overlook areas where beneficial legislation is politically possible. The broad political agreement that it is necessary to reform how pharmacy benefit managers (PBM) operate exemplifies the potential bipartisan opportunities.
The opacity and misaligned incentives that plague the PBM market are currently harming patients. PBMs have been reducing the efficiency of the prescription drug marketplace, diverting billions of dollars toward these supply chain middlemen, and increasing costs on employers, consumers, and taxpayers.
Nothing contained in this blog is to be construed as necessarily reflecting the views of the Pacific Research Institute or as an attempt to thwart or aid the passage of any legislation.
PBMs’ Evolving Business Model Continues To Raise Costs On Patients
Wayne H Winegarden
It is indisputable that the prescription drug pricing system is in desperate need of reform. Out-of-pocket costs for medicines are going up even as net prices continue to decline. This discontinuity alone demonstrates why Congress should pass meaningful PBM reform that addresses the growing use of GPOs.
The conclusion of the longest government shutdown in history and rising political acrimony rightly receives a great deal of attention but this focus makes it easy to overlook areas where beneficial legislation is politically possible. The broad political agreement that it is necessary to reform how pharmacy benefit managers (PBM) operate exemplifies the potential bipartisan opportunities.
The opacity and misaligned incentives that plague the PBM market are currently harming patients. PBMs have been reducing the efficiency of the prescription drug marketplace, diverting billions of dollars toward these supply chain middlemen, and increasing costs on employers, consumers, and taxpayers.
Read the op-ed here.
Nothing contained in this blog is to be construed as necessarily reflecting the views of the Pacific Research Institute or as an attempt to thwart or aid the passage of any legislation.