(Washington D.C.) – Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA) President and CEO JC Scott released the following statement on today’s Senate Finance Committee hearing, “Prescription Drug Price Inflation: An Urgent Need to Lower Drug Prices in Medicare.”
“PCMA commends the Senate Finance Committee for holding this important hearing on drug price inflation. We share the committee’s goal of lowering prescription drug costs for all Medicare beneficiaries.
In Medicare Part D, pharmacy benefit managers, PBMs, negotiate directly with drug manufacturers and pharmacies to provide beneficiaries with the lowest possible prescription drug costs and the highest quality pharmacy experience. The savings achieved from PBM negotiations are a key driver to consistently affordable premiums in the program and lower cost-sharing at the pharmacy counter. In fact, a recent Government Accountability Office study found that 99.6% of rebates negotiated by PBMs in Part D are passed through to plan sponsors to lower drug costs for beneficiaries.
In the context of this hearing, it’s important to point out that the key to reducing prescription drug costs is enacting policies that foster innovation and increase competition among manufacturers. PCMA’s Critical Path Forward recommends policies to address prescription drug costs by building on market-based tools in public programs and private health insurance and curbing drug manufacturer patent abuses that block competition and lead to higher drug costs.
We stand ready to work with policymakers to lower prescription drug costs for all patients.”
###|
PCMA is the national association representing America’s pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs). PBMs administer prescription drug plans for more than 266 million Americans who have health insurance from a variety of sponsors including: commercial health plans, self-insured employer plans, union plans, Medicare Part D plans, the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP), state government employee plans, Medicaid plans, and others.
