First, Happy Independence Day!
Patients and caregivers need your help. Please share the petition to ensure choice and safe access to pharmaceutical care.
As pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) such as Optum RX, CVS Caremark, and Express Scripts are forcing or heavily steering patients to their own mail-order pharmacy, the freedom for Americans to choose the pharmacy that best fits the needs of themselves or for their children has been mostly removed for many patients whose lives depend on medications.
Safe option to access to medications in the United States is also rapidly disappearing as patients are being forced to the pharmacy benefit managers owned or affiliated mail-order pharmacy. In any other industry, these anticompetitive acts would not be allowed as this would be considered a conflict of interest. Mail-order could be an option, but there are many risks with the delivery of medications by mail. There are life-threatening delays, lack of crucial face to face interactions for our elderly and patients with learning disabilities, medication temperatures of mail order pharmacy are not regulated by the FDA, thefts of medications, and numerous HIPAA violations when medications are shipped to the wrong address.
The forcing to mail-order pharmacy is not about what is best for most patients. The forcing to mail is about increasing shareholder and CEO profits more than patient care. Unless urgently stopped, PBMs have a way to remove their competition. Patients and taxpayers will pay more.
PBMs oversee reimbursements. They determine access and reimbursements to not only their owned pharmacy but to their own competitors’ pharmacy. Imagine being able to set the price of a product or reimbursement of a competitor. PBMs allow options that ensure that patients will pay more at the pharmacy counter if a pharmacy outside of a PBM affiliated pharmacy is used.
Many who are forced to the PBMs pharmacy have noted that upon reviewing the Election of Benefits Statement (EOB), for the couple of months they may have been able to fill medications at their trusted pharmacy, are astonished to find that their trusted pharmacy was reimbursed many times lower; although, a higher copay was charged. Patients must look beyond the copay when considering the true costs of mail-order pharmacy as the higher reimbursements to the PBMs mail-order will certainly increase premiums.
CVS Caremark, Optum RX, and Express Scripts are part of an oligopoly who own 85% of the PBM market. PBMs negotiations are not helping many patients at the pharmacy counter who have found that the cash price may be cheaper than using their insurance and paying their copay. PBMs are supposed to negotiate the costs of drugs with the drug manufacturers. Yet, due to the PBMs keeping a great portion of the rebates and discounts, the costs of drugs continue to increase as many are being forced to mail-order pharmacy. Due to the oligopoly, employers and patients struggle to find any other plan options for pharmaceutical benefit management.
Many Americans continue to pay more and get less.
Thank you for fighting with us and for your continued support. Please share the petition.
You may also help by:
- donating to our nonprofit Unite for Safe Medications
- participating in our temperature study - receive a temperature data logger by mail and return. email:loretta@uniteforsafemeds.com
- Sharing your story - We will be sharing stories in writing, videos, or webchat by emailing loretta@uniteforsafemeds.com
Your support will save lives!
Thank you,
Loretta Boesing