The Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA) released the following statement today in response to the agenda being advocated by the group “Change to Win”:
| "Pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) typically reduce drug costs by 25 percent for unions and thousands of other organizations. In New York alone, PBMs will save consumers and employers a projected $94.9 billion on the cost of their prescription drugs over the next ten years, according to research from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). They do this by encouraging generic drug utilization, the use of mail-service pharmacies, and adoption of health information technologies. |
| "America's PBMs - including CVS Caremark - are fighting for legislation that would increase generic use even more, by promoting electronic prescribing and giving the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authority to approve generic versions of expensive biologic products. |
| "Unfortunately, the agenda being pushed by 'Change to Win' would make a bad economy even worse. It would lead to higher health premiums, force employers to choose between cutting benefits or cutting jobs, and offer no health benefit to consumers. PBM fiduciary and disclosure legislation would increase prescription drug costs for New York consumers by $16.1 billion over ten years, according to PwC. |
| "PBMs are already subject to extensive regulation at the state and federal levels. Furthermore, the savings they provide have been recognized by numerous government and independent analyses. In recent years, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Government Accountability Office (GAO), Congressional Budget Office (CBO), and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) have all confirmed that PBMs' generate substantial savings for public and private payors." |
PCMA is the national association representing America’s pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), which administer prescription drug plans for more than 210 million Americans with health coverage provided through Fortune 500 employers, health insurance plans, labor unions, and Medicare Part D.
Contacts:
Charles Coté,
202-207-3605
