JC Scott: “The sticker price, set solely by the drug company, decides the starting point for all PBM and drug company negotiations.”

PCMA president and CEO JC Scott explains why it’s essential for drug manufacturers to lower their list prices.

“Pharmacy benefit managers support lower list prices for all prescription drugs for every patient,” said Scott in the video. “If that sticker price were lower, employers and patients would pay less.”

The fact is that drug companies set the price of prescription drugs — and the price is the problem when it comes to Americans facing difficulty affording their medications. PBMs don’t set drug prices and are not forcing drug companies to set or keep high prices. Drug companies set the price, decide when to increase the price, block competition to keep the price high, and spend billions of dollars on advertising to promote high-priced products to consumers.

Rising drug prices limit the ability of PBMs to effectively secure savings to address the affordability challenge that some patients face. The sticker price is the starting point for all PBM and drug company negotiations – and often the basis for cost sharing obligations. A lower sticker price means employers, unions, plan sponsors, and most importantly, patients, will pay less.

PBMs and the American people are calling on Big Pharma to Lower the List Price.

To learn more about PCMA’s new campaign calling on drug companies to lower their list prices, visit PCMA’s website HERE.

To explore how PBMs are innovating to meet the evolving needs of consumers and employers, click HERE.  

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PCMA is the national association representing America’s pharmacy benefit companies. Pharmacy benefit companies are working every day to secure savings, enable better health outcomes, and support access to quality prescription drug coverage for more than 289 million patients.