A lack of oversight and regulation of PBMs has allowed them to act under the radar. They have made the drug distribution channel exceedingly opaque and have directly caused drug prices to rise.
Todd Brown
Posted inOpinion
Pharmacy benefit managers are engaging in thievery
Pharmacy benefit managers were created with the intention they would negotiate discounts and pass them on to patients. Instead, they’ve taken advantage of not being regulated using several tactics to reap profits, sometimes in the billions.
Posted inHealth Care
Look behind the pharmacy benefit manager curtain
SECRET TRANSACTIONS, billions of dollars involved, hidden tactics. Sounds like the next big movie mega hit. But it’s not. It’s actually the world of pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs. You might not have heard of them, but they know a lot about your health care coverage. In fact, they orchestrate which drugs you have access […]
Posted inOpinion
We’re relying on the wrong pharmacies for vaccinations
ACCORDING TO THE US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Massachusetts has administered about 50 percent of the vaccine distributed. This is about average when compared to other states, but when one considers the resources available to develop the vaccination plan, the number of large healthcare systems, the population density, and the number of pharmacies […]
Posted inOpinion
Insurers, pharmacy benefit managers driving up drug costs
IF WE EVER NEEDED MORE PROOF that insurers and pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) are a major cost driver for the price of prescription drugs, we need look no further than what happened when President Trump and his Health and Human Services Secretary, Alex Azar, decided to withdraw their proposal to eliminate drug rebates under Medicare. […]
Posted inOpinion
Pharmacy middlemen manipulating the system
A RECENT FEDERAL LAW allows pharmacists to inform patients when the price of their medication is less than the copayment they would pay using their insurance. This is helpful to some patients using certain low-cost medication. But there are much bigger savings to be realized by limiting payments to pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) who have […]
Posted inHealth Care, Opinion
What your pharmacist can’t tell you
I’VE BEEN AN INDEPENDENT PHARMACIST for 37 years and during that time I have gotten to know many patients. In some cases, I know quite a bit about their families, their medical histories, and much more. Often, they come to me for advice on their medications and how to reduce costs and I’m happy to […]