AMAC in the Media

Action Required: Tell the FTC to Lower Drug Costs by Examining PBM Business Practices

Posted on Tuesday, March 22, 2022
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AMAC Action
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57 Comments

Update 4/6/22: Over 14,150 comments have been left by AMAC members telling the Federal Trade Commission to investigate the business practices of pharmacy benefit managers (PBM). Transparency in the outpatient prescription drug supply chain, which is dominated by PBMs, is essential to lowering drug costs for all Americans. There’s still time for your voice to be heard. Please leave your comment today.

AMAC Action is excited to announce a significant initiative for our members and friends. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is asking for comments concerning the business practices of pharmacy benefit managers (PBM). This is a significant development given that many Americans are familiar with PBM entities like, CVS Caremark, Optum Rx, and Express Scripts, but know very little about how they operate.

AMAC Action has been calling for PBM business transparency for 4 years to expose the legal “safe harbor” that exists for these organizations. This safe harbor allows pharmacy benefit managers to charge drug manufacturers excessive fees to access the millions of insured lives that PBMs control. These fees find their way back to consumers, including Medicare beneficiaries, in the form of high drug costs. These fees are anti-competitive and distort the free market which should be the deciding factor in determining drug prices. This safe harbor should be repealed which would allow for transparency, competition, and accountability to influence drug costs.

There are numerous other questionable business practices PBMs employ, like forcing Medicare beneficiaries to use a PBM mail order pharmacy that auto-refills prescriptions. These practices put pharmacy benefit managers between the patient and their physician and local pharmacist, and effectively allows the PBM to dictate when beneficiaries receive their medications. The auto-refill practice also allows PBMs to generate even more fees for each prescription that is dispensed.

The FTC’s request for comments will most certainly be answered by physicians and pharmacists, but the most important voice in this discussion will be yours, the patient. Please click the button below to send a comment to the FTC and tell them to take a close look at pharmacy benefit manager business practices as a legitimate approach to lowering drug costs for Americans.

Click Here to Send Your Comment to the FTC

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Nancy
Nancy
2 years ago

Please the business practices of PBM and lower prescription costs.

Nancy
Nancy
2 years ago

Please the business practices of PBM and lower prescription costs.

Stephan
Stephan
2 years ago

This article is too short to completely define the issue. I cannot act without more info. What’s the difference between PBMs as presented and the left’s desire to have Medicare negotiate prices.

I’m new to medicare (6 months) but my Humana pharmacy is half the cost of my previous UHC employer based plan with their Optum Rx plan for the same meds.
Seems to me consumers need to shop around.

Carla Evitt
Carla Evitt
2 years ago

Please take a closer look at pharmacy benefit manager business practices as a possible legitimate approach to lowering drug costs for Americans. If the service they provide is only to generate more fees for themselves, we aren’t interested.

Mike
Mike
2 years ago

Government is discussing

Mary
Mary
2 years ago

Another way of fleecing Americans, especially senior citizens – it must stay in the spotlight until changed for the better! The drug companies, and the go-betweens, should be ashamed of themselves for not giving a damn about senior citizens just so they can line their pockets while emptying ours. We have become the “ME, MYSELF, AND I” America! NOT GIVING A DAMN ABOUT OTHERS!P.S. Humans is the leader in wanting OBAMA CARE – you can’t tell a book by it’s cover – Beware!

David Millikan
David Millikan
2 years ago

Thanks to ObamaCare the Medical Profession has turned into Politicians playing politics with our Healthcare. I know personally because my doctor played politics with my healthcare. They are still buying drugs from China which are tainted just like Obama and DICTATOR Beijing biden. All the excellent Doctors we had retired as soon as SWAMP QUEEN pelosi made her famous remark-‘We have to pass ObamaCare so we can find out what’s in it.’
We have our answer today. Outrageous drug prices and below par for Doctors who are being taught in Medical school on how to be a FASCIST liberal and NOT be a REAL Doctor. Keep politics OUT of the Doctors office. Doctors are supposed to be Doctors and treat their patients needs.
We are still having our Penicillin made in China since 2004 who RELEASED the CHINA VIRUS on the WORLD in 2020 or earlier.
Then they ship CHINA made At Home CHINA VIRUS Kits that contains TOXIC/DEADLY Potassium Rozide that causes SERIOUS SIDE EFFECTS like DEATH.
Just look at ALL the people who were Fully Vaccinated and are Filling up Hospitals. FAKE News will NEVER tell you that or the TRUTH.

Richard E Silvia
Richard E Silvia
2 years ago

SOMEOne needs to get to the bottom of this! No one should have to go without their meds.

Craig
Craig
2 years ago

Not only that PBM’s treat pharmacy saving clubs like Kroger and GoodRx like a secondary insurance. They reject patient refills until the patient calls Express Scripts to have the secondary insurance flag removed which can delay life saving medication for patients. This puts the patient at risk when the medication has to be refrigerated and only small amounts can be stored at your local pharmacy. I got my wife’s lifesaving meds one day before she needed her medication. This is certifiably crazy to put patients at risk for this kind of business practice!

Bill Speight
Bill Speight
2 years ago

I would like to suggest you take a look at the pharmacy business manager’s practices, As I believe this would be a substantial way to cut Is unnecessary cost to prescription users.

Bryan
Bryan
2 years ago

CVS Caremark lost my business last year. They refused to fill a new prescription and if they had offered to fill it, it would have cost me several hundred dollars. I now go to a local store pharmacy where I pay $9.60 for this prescription.

Tom
Tom
2 years ago

My drug plan told me my tier 1 and 2 drugs will not be increased so I kept my plan because all of mine fit. What they did not tell me was the changed all of my cheap drugs to tier 3 and 4. What I paid $4 now cost $158

Jeanette
Jeanette
2 years ago

Medications should be affordable to begin with. Many are life sustaining and if many cases are crucial to living a painless existence. For too long pharma has been making it to choice for many: food or health..financially…Insurance companies…also need to improve their decisions…let the doctors say if a patient needs medicine and/ or procedures. We live in a society that cares little about its citizens…this includes Federal Government. Something to think about…..

nadine cornett
nadine cornett
2 years ago

My comment was posted, got at least one thumb down and has since disappeared. Wondering why.

David Warren
David Warren
2 years ago

I have dealt with large pharmacies and small local ones. Best service and working to get me the best price came from local single owner pharmacies. Don’t put them out of business. Small communities need these businesses

Carol
Carol
2 years ago

As an RN with controlled diabetes, I requested a Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM) to maintain continued control of my Diabetes. Medicare does NOT cover CGMs / sensors unless you are ON Insulin. What happened to “preventative medicine”??? Having a CGM is very likely to prevent the need for Insulin in the future. I self-pay for the sensors because I feel they are worth the info they provide. I was paying $92 / month for two sensors & this month CVS raised their price to $148 for the same two sensors. When I questioned them, they stated that the “Abbott has raised their prices” which Abbott denied when I called them – they just point their fingers at each other while the customer pays more.

Carmen
Carmen
2 years ago

PBMs should be scrapped! FTC must allow Medicare/Medicare Advantage beneficiaries to choose what ever pharmacy they want their prescriptions filled.
My OTC benefits amounts to only half the real value of items like when I ordered a first aid kit – the kit contained only 22 items instead of the 35 total promised number … all made in China for CVS.

Bob L.
Bob L.
2 years ago

Everyone should also be demanding an end of the pharma companies importing about 80% of the products they sell to us from Communist China. Only a fraction of the facilities making those drugs over there have or are being inspected and given that country’s history of poor quality standards, how safe are the drugs, are they being tested once here or just given a free pass?

Rik
Rik
2 years ago

Forget the drugs, ALL drugs have dangerous side effects! . . . Discover PEMF Therapy instead! . . . I have and at 74, my health is good and strong!

Ruby
Ruby
2 years ago

nice

Robert Zuccaro
Robert Zuccaro
2 years ago

While I’m sure its not the same for everyone but my mom takes 7 different commonly taken meds each month costing less than $20… Obviously certain drugs cost more but how cheap do drugs have to be? I’m more curious why it still takes 45 days to get a VA appointment!

Eva
Eva
2 years ago

good

Steve McCoy
Steve McCoy
2 years ago

Please review the PBMs for transparency and fair practices

David Wells II
David Wells II
2 years ago

Please take the PBMs out of the drug market. As a senior citizen it is hard enough to survive

Jeff
Jeff
2 years ago

All I can say sis that with cVS Caremark, I have two less than desirable outcomes:

– pharmacy not having info and prep instructions etc. that are consistent with what my cardiologist told me, regarding meds, and, secondly

-overfilling of meds by excessive frequency of refills, sometimes – tho less item, including doubled doses (e.g. 10 mg pills instead of 5mg)

Chris Roberts
Chris Roberts
1 year ago

This should include large increases in co-pays annually approved by congress.

Samuel
Samuel
1 year ago

… so, you expect the FTC people, to study the problem? Exactly how long would prefer the FTC people dig in, studying the problem? And, to whom would admonish them to report their findings? Kamala Harris? Xavier Bacerra? Joseph Biden? Pray tell, for what? Maybe they’ll give us another stimmy?

Ed Schu
Ed Schu
1 year ago

PBM needs a rev!

Leland
Leland
1 year ago

good

Hogan
Hogan
1 year ago

Drug prices need to be lowered.

Elaine Triplett
Elaine Triplett
1 year ago

I’m on Medicare but hit the donut hole in April. I couldn’t afford my insulin. Then I found out that the company who made them would provide them free of charge. I was amazed I qualified. And another medicine that was over $700 a month with insurance, I now get for $50 a month and they send it to me. Why is it that you can find some meds cheaper without insurance? Something isn’t right.

Barbara
Barbara
1 year ago

Please get the pharmacy prescriptions under better control.
It’s hard enough living on social security as it is. Then hit us with outrageous copays, seniors and disabled suffer the most.

Mike
Mike
1 year ago

We seniors over 75 really need relief from high drug prices. Tell the drug companies to start making allowances for senior citizens and quit giving all the freebies to illegal aliens and undocumented noncitizens

CoNMTX
CoNMTX
1 year ago

I believe drug prices are high because of the fantastic profits to be gained. Health is not as important to these companies as money. Also, because the drug companies have so many millions of dollars, they own quite a few congressmen who vote on such things. Most of the members of congress are so crooked they could change clothes behind a corkscrew.

Nancy
Nancy
1 year ago

Why can’t I make my own comment?

Willy
Willy
1 year ago

IMHO: Big Pharma is a big monopoly and should be cut down to size. Follow the money. Big Pharma has never cured anything, not even the common cold (just another corona virus). It is much more profitable to use their various poisons to relieve pain and suffering.

If you watch TV, or even listen to the Radio, the medicine commercials would lead one to believe the USA is the sickest place on the planet, “ask your doctor” is in most of the commercials as their CYA disclaimer. I have heard that Pfizer funds most of these commercials. I think they want to keep you just well enough to be able to work and afford to buy their products, but sick enough to want to buy their products. I also think most of the “diseases” we have nowadays are brainchilds of Big Pharma so they can sell a product to relieve it. Big Pharma really hates the alternate pill market, their competition that is not FDA approved. However, FDA Approval is questionable because they get a lot of their funding from Big Pharma; conflicts of interest.

Mass Formation Psychosis (Brainwashing) has been with us for many decades and directs the minds of a large group of people to do the bidding of the instigator automatically, and if driven deeply enough, sometimes even against the victims morals (group think).

Big Pharma along with the other Big Businesses I listed is one of the largest cash cows that the wealthy elites have to fleece the common workers. About the only difference between the legal Big Pharma and the illegal Drug Cartels is that Big Pharma pays taxes to the government. Trillionaires are not too far in the future if we continue the route we are traveling. This is why one should never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups! Think of what the shelves at the many, many drug stores would look like without all these miracle medicines. It’s like the old time “Snake Oil” peddler on steroids; but he only had one or two products like whiskey and cod liver oil, or whiskey and some other ingredient, and depended mostly on the imagination of gullible people.

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