Too many prescription drugs in America come with outrageous price tags. That’s why employers, unions, and government programs hire pharmacy benefit managers – or PBMs – to negotiate lower prices and ensure patients can safely access the medications they need.

Drugmakers have invested heavily in distorting the role PBMs play to distract from the high prices they charge and the ways they game the system to keep them high. After all, PBMs are a check on drugmaker power. But policymakers should see through the pharma charades. PBMs offer enormous value, and without them prescription drug in American would cost billions more. PBMs are part of the affordability solution.

Here are some facts about PBMs.

• • PBMs save patients $1,154 per person per year.
  • PBMs are the only ones in the drug supply chain on the side of affordability.
  • PBMs help reduce prescription drug costs for 289 million Americans.
  • PBMs save employers and patients 40-50% on their annual drug and related medical costs.
  • PBMs reduce costs by $10, for every $1 firms spend on their services. 
  • PBMs are transparent, with 86% of employers reporting satisfaction with the transparency in their PBM contract.
  • PBMs encourage generic drug use and accelerate the pace of new drug development.
  • PBMs improve patient health outcomes and promote medication adherence.
  • PBMs will help prevent 1 billion medication errors over the next 10 years.
  • PBMs reimburse independent pharmacies at a higher rate than large chain ones.
  • PBM services equate to $145 billion in total economic value for Americans annually.

PBMs secure discounts from drugmakers, foster competition, perform safety checks, and deliver incredible value for companies and programs that hire them. In the end, American families enjoy tremendous savings from the work PBMs do.