As a pharmacist, I know that a well-managed pharmacy network made up of different types of pharmacies, from small to large and from traditional brick-and-mortar to mail — to ensure all patients and families have access to the most affordable, accessible and convenient way to access their prescriptions — is vital to our health care system.
Pharmacy benefit companies play an instrumental role in maintaining these pharmacy networks that allow for flexibility. They also ensure that everyone who arrives at the pharmacy counter can not only access their prescriptions but afford them.
Yet despite their clear value, Congress is threatening new government mandates that will eliminate pharmacy benefits that so many Americans rely on.
It worries me that lawmakers want to advance legislation that would make it more difficult for patients and families to not only access their medications but also increase prescription drug costs.
Thankfully, Utah has leaders in Washington like Sens. Mitt Romney and Mike Lee. They have a long history of pushing back against policies allowing for more government intervention into our health care that would increase prescription drug costs.
The median annual price of the 17 novel FDA-approved drugs in 2022 was $222,003, according to Reuters. This is simply unsustainable, especially if existing levers to control and lower costs are removed. Pharmacy benefit managers help keep prescription drug costs down by driving cost-effective, evidence-based medicine through a variety of means. The savings secured by pharmacy benefit companies help save employers, including small and mid-sized businesses, more than $800 per patient per year on prescription drug costs.
Earlier this month, Romney made remarks during a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee hearing that certain legislation targeting pharmacy benefit companies will hurt small businesses by eliminating a tool that many employers rely on. He cautioned that “a vast majority of small and middle-sized employers prefer spread price contracting because it’s lower cost and more certainty for them. That’s why they choose it. Making that illegal is not going to help small or mid-sized businesses.”
In a day of ever-rising drug and health care costs, Romney’s comments were commendable, and I hope he will continue to protect our pharmacy benefits.
Lee has been instrumental in supporting legislation that will encourage more competition in the prescription drug supply chain, which is an effective way to lower prices. He has previously introduced the Biosimilar Red Tape Elimination Act which would help clear regulatory barriers so more affordable alternatives can enter the market. Having performed research on the significant savings that biosimilars can provide without impacting treatment outcomes, I appreciate these efforts.
Additionally, Lee helped advance legislation in the Senate Judiciary Committee that cracks down on anti-competitive tactics from big drug companies that allow them to set increasingly high prescription drug prices.
Lawmakers should follow suit and support more policies that encourage a more competitive, cost-effective prescription drug marketplace. Pharmacy benefit companies truly provide immense value to not just pharmacies and the patients and families we serve, but the entire prescription drug supply chain.
Congress should be mindful about advancing legislation that targets pharmacy benefit companies and will do more harm than good and instead encourage more competition to support our economic growth.
As Sens. Romney and Lee have already worked so hard to put Utah families first, I hope they will double down on their efforts and ensure pharmacists like me and the customers I serve continue to have the pharmacy benefits we need to thrive.
Tavan Parker is a clinical pharmacist with 6 years of experience in managing pharmacy benefits. He is a member of the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) and the current secretary for the Utah-AMCP Chapter Board.