Tallahassee Democrat Letter to the Editor by Michael Jackson, EVP/CEO of the Florida Pharmacy Association and EMPOWER Patients Coalition Member
Contrary to the outrageous claims shared with the Tallahassee Democrat, if my time in the pharmacy industry has taught me anything, it’s that patients need community pharmacies.
Multi-billion-dollar pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) exploit patients to continue generating wealth, enacting tedious authorization protocols when not steering to their affiliated pharmacies, and often still denying benefits altogether.
Independent pharmacies, however, increase access to affordable medications, particularly in rural neighborhoods.
In fact, data shows that more than 75 percent serve areas with less than 50,000 residents.
Opportunistic PBMs also bring in up to 109 times more revenue than the average independent pharmacy, the result of a common practice called spread pricing, wherein they overcharge insurers and managed care plans and pocket the difference.
An independent report by the Agency for Health Care Administration actually found that PBMs dealing in the state’s Medicaid program are profiting $89.6 million in taxpayer dollars annually from spread pricing alone.
In Florida, PBMs remain unregulated – despite the Supreme Court asserting the need for oversight – and several other states, including Delaware, New York, and Ohio, are following suit.
HB 357/SB 1476 would simply shift existing laws to the appropriate regulatory agency, ensuring they are enforced, and patients are protected.
Michael Jackson, EVP/CEO, Florida Pharmacy Association