Employers across the country recognize the critical role that pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) play in providing affordable, flexible, and transparent prescription drug benefits.

• A recent survey of nearly 700 employers across the country conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago found 90 percent of respondents are satisfied with their PBM’s clarity and transparency of contract terms. Additionally, the survey found that 90 percent of employers who received rebates in the past 12 months used them to offset overall prescription drug benefit costs.
• A majority of employers choose to hire PBMs due to the flexibility and range of choices they provide, with patients and payers saving $1,040 per person per year on prescription drug costs.
• Beyond cost savings, PBMs play a crucial role in making prescription drugs more affordable for patients, generating $148 billion in savings annually.
• Without PBMs, employers and other organizations would be forced to manage pharmacy benefits on their own, losing a staggering $58 billion each year.

Many employers from across the nation have shared firsthand how PBMs add value to their businesses and employees. A few examples include:

Eric Hare, CEO Global K9 Protection Group, shares:

“To have a PBM is like the person in our corner of the ring. They’re negotiating to give us the ability to offer flexible, cost-effective and affordable rates. The rebates that the PBMs are able to give lowers cost sharing for the employees, it helps us with credits that we’re able to use and redeploy back into the company.”

Click the video below to watch:

Joseph Summers, CEO, Minerva Defense, adds:

“We don’t have time to negotiate costs. The PBMs, that’s their job. They help make sense of this marketplace and help us make decisions and give us choices and options. It’s the difference between success and failure, having a really good and effective benefits plan, and the type of benefits package that’s going to cause them to stick around for years and years to come. A PBM is critical.” 

Click the video below to watch:

Steve Sydow, owner, SJS Electric and member of the Ironton, Ohio Chamber of Commerce, states:

“Ohioans want a strong, vibrant economy built by local businesses that can grow and provide competitive benefits to their workforce. PBMs help make that possible by keeping our health care costs manageable.”

Marcy Kisby Baumann, small business owner in Minnesota, explains:

“Rebates from PBMs leverage the scale and bargaining power that smaller businesses could never access alone. This helps us keep costs manageable and benefits competitive. Here in Minnesota, where small businesses are the backbone of the economy, this kind of flexibility is essential for growth and our competitive edge.”

Learn more about how PBMs work from employers themselves 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.