Higher Payments to Drugstores Means Higher Costs for Consumers and Payers
PCMA Launches New Ad Campaign
WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Legislation championed by the independent drugstore lobby that would restrict many proven pharmacy benefit management cost-saving tools would increase the federal deficit by $186.2 billion and also increase costs to private plans by $105.7 billion over the 2010-2019 period, according to a new budget analysis conducted by the Moran Company.
HR 4199, the “Patient Health and Real Medication Access Cost Savings Act of 2009,” would destroy proven cost-containment tools that unions, large employers, and Medicare rely upon and drive health care premiums higher for working families, seniors, and the disabled, the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA) said today.
In conjunction with the new analysis, PCMA also launched a new ad campaign — “The Independent Pharmacy Lobby wants more… and it will only cost $186 billion” — that highlights the independent drugstore lobby’s special interest agenda.
“The last thing consumers and payers want are new fees on prescription drugs and less access to affordable home delivery,” said PCMA President and CEO Mark Merritt. “The bill would simply transfer money from those who pay for drugs to the drugstores that dispense them.”
The bill would result in:
- Higher cost-sharing for consumers
- Higher payments to drugstores
- Higher generic drug costs
- Less access to affordable home delivery of medications.
PCMA represents the nation’s pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), which improve affordability and quality of care through the use of electronic prescribing (e-prescribing), generic alternatives, mail-service pharmacies, and other innovative tools for 210-plus million Americans.
CONTACT:
Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA)
Charles Coté, 202-207-3605
KEYWORDS: United States North America District of Columbia
INDUSTRY KEYWORDS: Health Public Policy/Government Healthcare Reform Congressional News/Views Public Policy White House/Federal Government General Health Managed Care
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