As independent pharmacies conduct a “Fly-In” in Washington D.C this week, they will undoubtedly double-down on support for policies targeting pharmacy benefit companies that would have profound negative consequences for employers, taxpayers, and patients.

It’s important for lawmakers to consider and recognize the critical role and value of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), and how PBMs are supporting rural pharmacies.

As Ike Brannon, senior fellow at the Jack Kemp Foundation, and Anthony Lo Sasso, professor and chair of the economics departments at DePaul University, put it in a new op-ed published in RealClearMarkets:

“Instead of adopting their business model to this new market reality, independent pharmacies have largely resorted to lobbying local and national politicians to neutralize or eliminate pharmacy benefit companies or PBMs. If they succeed in their efforts, it will primarily benefit themselves, not patients or taxpayers.” 

Brannon and Lo Sasso discuss the real challenge facing independent pharmacies: 

“The real challenge for independent pharmacies is their need to rapidly adapt to a world where consumer expectations, technological advancements, and the very nature of competition have evolved dramatically from the days of Mr. Gower.”

Brannon and Lo Sasso go on to explain how the independent pharmacy marketplace is stable and how independent pharmacies are able to negotiate favorably with chain pharmacies and PBMs:

“However, the number of independent pharmacies has stabilized since 2000, and has actually risen in the last decade. These modern survivors are far from passive players in the healthcare sector. By banding together in the form of Pharmacy Services Administrative Organizations (PSAOs), they have strategically positioned themselves as potent entities aimed at standing up to both chain pharmacies and PBMs.

“PBMs began as intermediaries tasked with managing prescription drug benefits to ensure that patients receive the best possible care at the most affordable prices. Through their negotiations with drug manufacturers and pharmacies, PBMs help keep medication costs down. 

Read the full op-ed HERE.

See how PBMs are working to support independent pharmacies 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 275 million patients.

Learn more at www.pcmanet.org