OPINION: PBM Reform Can’t Wait

Staff @ LT&C
24 minutes ago
1 min read

Dear Editor,

No matter how strong of a support system someone has, it can’t fix a healthcare structure that seems designed to exhaust people. The biggest frustration I hear, whether it’s from relatives, neighbors, or coworkers, is the constant interference from pharmacy benefit managers.

These middlemen companies don’t treat patients or write prescriptions, yet they have enormous power over what medications people can access. In the end, they profit off everyday families, leaving patients with higher out-of-pocket costs and fewer options at the pharmacy.

Pharmacy benefit manager reform is long overdue, and Congress shouldn’t leave for the holidays without finishing the job, particularly by passing the PBM Reform Act. This bill is the first real effort in years to rewrite rules that were never built for patients in the first place.

Only after we fix that should we talk about broader ideas like the Most Favored Nation model. MFN doesn’t fix the roadblocks in a diabetic patient’s refill process or the denials facing someone managing heart disease; it just ties our prices to those overseas, which could leave us more reliant on other countries.

Our lawmakers in Congress need to prioritize solutions that actually match what people experience – and that means passing reforms to pharmacy benefit managers now.

Casey Key

Monroe, LA

Comments

OPINION: PBM Reform Can’t Wait

Dear Editor, No matter how strong of a support system someone has, it can’t fix a healthcare structure that seems designed to exhaust people. The biggest frustration I hear, whether it’s from relatives, neighbors, or coworkers, is the constant interference from pharmacy benefit managers. These middlemen companies don’t treat patients or write prescriptions, yet they have enormous power over what medications people can access. In the end, they profit off everyday families,

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