A heart transplant patient finds themselves without essential transplant medications for days, as they were directed towards a mail-order pharmacy, resulting in life-threatening delays.

Regina Mobley (Reporter): Is there anything in that bottle?

Nelson DeLeon (Patient): No, nothing. I have none of this medication.

What’s his wife’s number one fear? “That God forbid, one of these medicines does not arrive on time and it affects his heart." 

Organ transplant recipients like my son require medication every 12 hours for their well-being. However, this individual has been deprived of their medication for an alarming number of days.

In the past, these crucial medications could be promptly acquired from local pharmacies, often within an hour or two. However, the landscape has shifted with the consolidation of the industry. Insurance companies have merged with pharmacies and pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), forcing and steering patients to utilize their owned mail-order pharmacies.

Sadly, these mail-order pharmacies, which patients are coerced or mandated to use, frequently escape accountability for interruptions in treatment and the consequent life-threatening delays. It is unconscionable that they are not held to the same standards as other healthcare providers or facilities. Imagine the repercussions if a nurse failed to administer a patient's medication promptly in a hospital setting. Picture the consequences for a local pharmacy unable to fulfill prescriptions for days or weeks. Consider the personal responsibility a mother holds in ensuring her child receives life-saving transplant medications without delay.

The inconsistency in consequences highlights a glaring disparity in the healthcare system, where the well-being of patients like this heart transplant recipient is compromised due to systemic shortcomings and lack of accountability.

What can you do?

Attend the protest at Express Scripts on 5/17/2024. 

Write to your legislators and tell them to stop the abuses of PBMs and the steering of patients to mail order. 

Start attending your State Board of Pharmacy meetings and demand accountability for delays and improper temperature storage.

Comment on the Federal Trade Commission's public comment request on how the consolidation of the health care industry is harming patients. 

Help me leave a better future of pharmaceutical care for patients like my son. 

Thank you for your support, 

Loretta Boesing

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Contact us: Loretta@untieforsafemeds.com