Florida lawmakers should pass DeSantis’ proposal to lower cost of pharmaceuticals
Through my experiences as a global pharmacist, a national leader in the pharmacy industry and now a member of the EMPOWER Patients coalition in Florida, I’ve found that grossly one-sided relationships can exist anywhere, even in the prescription-drug supply chain.
In my line of work, they’re perpetuated by multibilliondollar companies known as pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs, that prey on patients, as well as smaller independent and community pharmacies.
As middlemen between drug manufacturers and health insurers, PBMs decide which prescriptions to cover based on the size of the rebate they’ll receive, which drives up patients’ out-of-pocket costs by almost 30%. Then, they use pressure tactics to steer patients to their affiliated pharmacies. For instance, CVS Caremark — one of the three PBMs that maintain approximately 80% of the prescription drug market — owns CVS Pharmacy and may only cover prescriptions filled there, no matter how inconvenient, time consuming or expensive it may be for patients.
Basically, PBMs don’t provide any healthcare services, and yet they’re calling the shots, compromising patient care so they can continue increasing their already exorbitant bottom line.
And it’s no better for hardworking independent and community pharmacies. PBMs are subjecting them to “spread pricing,” charging them more than the cost of a prescription and pocketing the difference. As a result, PBMs are making up to 109 times more profit, often forcing these smaller pharmacies to shut their doors, leaving their customers without access to prescriptions they need.
While the Florida Legislature made great strides to regulate PBMs last year, Gov. DeSantis still wasn’t satisfied. In January, he introduced a legislative proposal — the most comprehensive prescription drug reform in Florida history — to address the more egregious transgressions of PBMs, such as steering and spread pricing.
During the legislative session, DeSantis’ proposal is being championed by State Sen. Jason Brodeur, R-Lake Mary, who is sponsoring Senate Bill 1550, and State Rep. Linda Chaney, R-St. Petersburg, who is sponsoring House Bill 1509. These bills, both referred to as The Prescription Drug Reform Act, reaffirm the need for increased transparency and accountability in the prescription-drug market.
The EMPOWER Patients coalition is grateful to the governor, Brodeur and Chaney for the work they have done so far to rein in PBMs, and we look forward to supporting them as they establish critical, longoverdue change on behalf of patients this session.