Let's start the count down! 61 days until we protest at the headquarters of one of the largest pharmacy benefit manager's & mail order pharmacies headquarters, Express Scripts. The protest will take place 5/17/2024 from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM.
Many patients across the nation are forced or steered to Express Scripts against their will as it is the only option of coverage allowed by the pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) or insurance company. Express Scripts is a PBM and mail order pharmacy. Express Scripts often uses their own PBM to steer patients to their own pharmacy. Patients have faced life-threatening delays, interruptions in treatment, and some have been forced to receive medications such as room temperature medications not stored at the temperatures proven safe by drug manufacturers as the only option of coverage.
Express Scripts also uses their PBM portion of their business to restrict access to medications by restricting medications on the list of covered medications. Physicians are hiring additional staff to deal with long exhaustive obstacle courses to obtain the medications needed for their patients.
Express Scripts has a 1-star rating on the Better Business Bureau that highlights this Pattern of Complaints:
“Better Business Bureau is advising consumers to use caution when considering doing business with Express Scripts. BBB has received a pattern of consumer complaints alleging delays or failure to ship correct prescriptions or medications; failure to accept returns or medications which were shipped in error; failure to issue refunds; debiting credit or debit cards for prescriptions not shipped and poor customer service.”
When patients are so graciously allowed by their PBM to use their local pharmacies, PBMs like Express Scripts also oversee reimbursements to competitor pharmacies & often reimburse competitor pharmacies below their cost, causing closures of local pharmacies in the most underserved rural and urban areas across America.
Upon advocating for regulation, legislation, & protection from these pharmacies and PBMs, advocates find themselves against one of the wealthiest lobbyist organizations in America, the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA) that has in the last year doubled the amount they’re investing in lobbying by the millions. The Boards of Pharmacy also often have strong ties and even members sitting in regulatory positions making it almost impossible for protection & justice. It’s time to demand it! Patients deserve ethical treatment and safe access to their local pharmacies.
Often, many are “too sick to fight” & many pharmacists fear retaliation for speaking publicly about these issues.
This is why we need your voice. We look forward to meeting you there!
Sign Up Here: https://uniteforsafemedications.com/protest
If you are unable to join, you may submit a photo of yourself holding up a sign in solidarity. If you would like, you may also share your personal story about why this issue is important to you with the permission for us to share this publicly & to our website and social media sites on the day of the protest, 5/17/2024.
Email: loretta@uniteforsafemeds.com
Thank you,
Loretta Boesing, Patient Advocate