In case you missed it, a former Big Pharma CEO called the pharmaceutical industry’s attempt to shift the blame game for high prescription drug prices onto pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) a “weak explanation,” and affirmed the cost-reducing value of PBMs. Speaking with Danish news outlet BØRSEN in a recent interview, Jesper Høiland, former U.S. CEO of Novo Nordisk, said (translated to English from Danish) of Big Pharma pointing a finger at PBMs:
“I think that’s a weak explanation. And I don’t understand why they chose that approach,” says Jesper Høiland. “It’s not true to say that the products would be cheaper without the PBMs. They would rather become more expensive. But that’s because Novo Nordisk doesn’t want to be the bad guy — then they blame someone else.”
As a reminder, drug companies set the price, raise the price, and block competition by gaming the U.S. patent system to keep prices high. PBMs act as the only effective counterbalance to Big Pharma’s otherwise limitless pricing power, leveraging competition to secure savings for health plan sponsors, patients, and taxpayers.
Matt Fiedler, senior fellow at the Brookings Institute and former chief economist on the White House Economic Council, notes in the BØRSEN article:
“PBMs are not a big reason why drug prices are high in the United States. In fact, I think drug prices would be significantly higher if there were no PBMs … The main reason for high drug prices in the United States is that we give generous patent protection to companies that develop new drugs … This gives drug companies extensive power to charge high prices.”
And Høiland agreed.
“Jesper Høiland, Novo Nordisk’s former CEO, agrees with Matt Fiedler that it is not the PBMs that are the problem. He believes that one must look at the bigger picture if one is to understand why Americans’ healthcare costs are high.
“The PBMs are not the bandits here.”
Read the full article HERE.
Learn more about Lowering the List Price HERE and explore why the price is the problem HERE.
###
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.
