I cannot say thank you enough to everyone who signed and shared the petition!
We have reached over 160,000 supporters to stop the forcing of mail-order pharmacy. Although we have faced challenges, we have great hope with the help of every single supporter.
For those who are just learning about this issue or who would like additional updates, here is some additional information.
A Brief Background History and Recent News of PBMs & Their Mail-order Pharmacies
Pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), like Express Scripts, Optum RX, and CVS Caremark, mostly started as payment processors or middlemen. Then, they merged or bought their own mail-order pharmacies. Now, not only do they force us to their owned mail-order, but they also reimburse our trusted pharmacists so low that many are closing their doors. Sadly, as middlemen, PBMs have compensated their pharmacy more than their competitors' pharmacy.
This week, an article discussed the closing of a Walgreens in a very populated area of Chicago. Walgreens cited the reason for the closure as low reimbursements, but brick and mortar pharmacies are crucial to the survival of patients and entire communities. Without these critical pharmacies, many communities are left with the reality of a public health threat as common illness occur, and patients are left traveling many miles for emergency doses fo medications. Not all patients have the physical and financial resources to travel further for life-saving or emergency medications. Keep in mind that most local independent pharmacies deliver to patients' doors for free in temperature-controlled vehicles.
The following is from the article:
"Levi suggested residents take advantage of the free prescription delivery offered on the Walgreens website, which didn’t go over well with some people in the audience.
“Not all of us have access to the internet,” a resident yelled.
If the meeting was meant to appease Calumet Heights customers, it may have had the opposite effect — as residents seemed even more determined than ever to either prevent the store’s closure or boycott Walgreens altogether.
“The decision was made by dollars not people, and you didn’t see the people who would be affected by your decision,”
Another article this week confirmed the increase of "pharmacy deserts." Sadly, this is a new trending term derived from the loose oversight and unethical actions of PBMs under the support of the PBMs association, Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA).
PBMs are among the wealthiest corporations in our nation, and their association, PCMA, lobbies millions to ensure that patients' voices remain unheard.
There are no excuses for PCMA and PBMs support of the unethical actions of forcing to their owned pharmacies, price-gouging patients behind the copay, and reimbursing our trusted pharmacists so low that many ends in the red.
A news station gave this example of low reimbursements, "So, the final accounting of the pharmacist's balance sheet shows a drug bought for $90, reimbursed for $95, then hit with a DIR fee (a fee charged by PBMs) of $15. The net loss is $10 instead of a $5 profit." In any other industry, the PBMs unethical acts would be considered theft and abuse.
The forcing of mail-order pharmacy and low reimbursements are directly tied to the greed of PBMs that is causing the most rapid decline in our pharmaceutical care.PBMs unethically seek to eliminate their own competition at all costs for their shareholders' and CEO's profits.
For this reason, we must demand the option to safe access to medications through the hands of our trusted pharmacists.
Other ways to help:
Share your story: loretta@uniteforsafemeds.com
Donate to our advocacy through our nonprofit Unite for Safe Medications
Unite with pharmacists in your area who are fighting for their profession and their patients.
Thank you for your support!