Big announcement last week about the PBM Act
Read about it in Drug Topics: https://lnkd.in/e9XFdmY6
✨️ Senators Elizabeth Warren and Josh Hawley, along with Representatives Harshbarger and Auchincloss, just introduced a bipartisan bill targeting pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs)
PBMs are often owned by or closely tied to major insurance carriers. For example, UnitedHealthcare owns the PBM OptumRx.
👉🏽 These relationships allow insurance companies to control both the prescription drug benefits and the negotiation process with drug manufacturers, pharmacies, and patients.
⚠️ This dual role can create conflicts of interest where PBMs have been (rightly) accused of prioritizing profits over patient affordability and access.
The proposed legislation, called the ‘PBM Act,’ is intended to add transparency to the process including:
1️⃣ Stop hidden pricing schemes
2️⃣ Ensure ✨️patients✨️ actually benefit from negotiated savings
3️⃣ For pharmacies, it could mean fairer reimbursements and less financial strain—allowing them to better serve their communities.
Curious your thoughts on this proposed action - let's keep the conversation going in the comments below 👇🏽
#healthcare#pbmact#pharmacy#drugcosts#healthcarecosts
Huge news when it comes to drug pricing and I couldn't even get home before I recorded this. Senator Elizabeth Warren just announced a bipartisan act that was introduced to target pharmacy benefits managers, or PBM's, are usually owned by a major insurance carrier. For example, United Healthcare owns the PBM Optum RX, which is one of the major PBM's in the United States. Now. These relationships allow the insurance company to control both the prescription drug benefit and the negotiation. Process when it comes to the drug manufacturing, pricing, pharmacies, and ultimately what patients pay. And if that sounds like a monopoly, it's because it kind of is that this is a dual role that creates a conflict of interest where PBM's can then have more opportunity to prioritize their profits over affordability and access for patients and that's what ends up driving drug costs up. This proposed legislation is called the PBM Act, but the goal is to add more transparency for the process. Number one that's gonna hopefully. Address hidden drug pricing schemes. It's going to ensure that patients actually benefit from the negotiated savings. For pharmacies, this could mean more fair reimbursements and less financial strain, which is currently putting a lot of pharmacies out of business. Ultimately, this is going to be what's best for our patients and to lower prices at the counter, plus better access to medication and in my opinion, more reliable access to community pharmacies because they'll be in business. Grace what you think?
