From: Shelby Fugate
Columbus
I rely on a variety of prescriptions to live a healthier life. That’s why I’m worried about how the Biden Administration’s recent announcement about how the government will start setting prices on 10 prescription drugs will impact access, affordability and the future of drug development.
Prescription price setting is not only a highly divisive, partisan issue, but it is quite simply bad policy. This approach can have a negative impact on access while also undermining future drug development. Price-setting policies like the ones the White House is moving forward on can chip away at the resources necessary for scientists and researchers to continue developing and bringing to market next-generation treatments and medicines.
The better solution to high out-of-pocket costs would be to reform the unfair practices the pharmacy benefit managers engage in to keep their profits soaring. PBMs will use policies to control when and where patients can even access the vital medications they need.
On top of that, PBMs will also work with drug manufacturers to secure vital discounts on prescription medications and then simply absorb those savings to inflate their profit margins even further instead of sharing them with consumers to help lower out-of-pocket expenses at the pharmacy checkout line.
Our lawmakers from Indianapolis to Washington, D.C., should work to pass PBM reform that benefits all patients — and stop worrying about putting the government in control of setting prescription prices.
