Pass PBM Reform Now
Email Subject:Please pass PBM reform now to help protect patients
Email Text:
Dear [Legislator],
I urge you to please pass pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) reform to rein in harmful PBM practices and create meaningful changes that could help patients better afford their medicine. Patients can’t afford to wait any longer for this legislation to pass.
The Federal Trade Commission recently found that PBMs made more than $7.3 billion over five years marking up the prices of generic drugs by over 1,000 percent for cancer and other conditions.1
That’s not all: An investigation from the New York Times revealed that “the largest PBMs often act in their own financial interests, at the expense of patients.”2 The NYT found this may include:
- Pushing patients toward drugs with higher out-of-pocket costs.
- Overcharging on drugs.
- Delaying or even preventing patients from getting medicine.
Under the current system, insurers and PBMs negotiate rebates with pharmaceutical companies to
lower drug prices, but patients may not see those discounts at the pharmacy counter. Instead of passing rebates on to their customers, PBMs are profiting off these savings. As a result, patients may end up paying more for their medicine than their insurer does.
Patients deserve better! Please pass PBM reform legislation as soon as possible so we can rein in this abusive practice and help patients access their life-saving treatments.
Thank you,
[Advocate name]
1 https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/ftc_gov/pdf/PBM-6b-Second-Interim-Staff-Report.pdf
2 https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/21/business/prescription-drug-costs-pbm.html