A bipartisan group of 39 state and territory attorneys general, led by the National Association of Attorneys General, sent a letter to Congress urging lawmakers to prohibit insurance companies' pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) from owning or operating pharmacies. Meaning insurance companies would no longer be able to have a pharmacy benefit manager that owns their own pharmacy.
PBMs, originally third-party administrators for prescription drug plans, have grown powerful through consolidation and vertical integration. Most major PBMs like Optum RX, CVS Caremark, and Express Scripts, now own pharmacies and are tied to insurance companies. This gives them unfair leverage over independent pharmacies, often forcing small businesses into unjust and harmful contracts and forcing patients to a poorly rated PBM owned mail order pharmacy that is risking lives with improper temperature control and delays.
The attorneys general state that PBMs use their market position to limit patient choices, reduce care quality, and increase costs, harming both consumers and competition. They called for legislative action to restore a fair market, enhance consumer choice, and ensure affordable pharmaceutical care.
The Patients Before Monopolies Act, introduced by Senator Hawley and Warren will be instrumental in pushing forward such change. Hopefully, congress will listen. Please contact your member of congress.
Thank you for your support,
Loretta Boesing, Patient Advocate