Guest Author
Pharmacy benefit companies are putting patients first and helping us save on health care costs.
But those patients are not just limited to people.
Unfortunately, Congress is considering various proposals that target pharmacy benefit companies, and if implemented, these policies will undermine their ability to secure savings for patients.
Pharmacy benefit companies help save patients like me more than $1,000 every year, helping reduce our annual drug and related medical costs by 40 to 50 percent. They do this by applying downward pressure in the prescription drug supply chain which, in turn, results in lower costs that every day patients get to cash in.
Using free market forces is the best way to effectively lower costs in the prescription drug market, but lawmakers pushing policies targeting our pharmacy benefits would rather put the government in control of our health care system, even if it means a heightened price tag.
A recent analysis from health care economist Casey Mulligan examined the implications of one policy targeting pharmacy benefit companies and concluded, “Annual federal spending on Medicare Part D premiums would increase $3 billion to $10 billion plus any concomitant increase in Medicare subsidies for out-of-pocket expenses.” These are substantial price tags in just the Part D program alone.
Without pharmacy benefit companies, prescription drugs would be even more out of reach than they already are. We’ve all seen a nearly endless stream of stories on how costly cancer drugs are nowadays, with some new cancer treatments coming with a $260,000 average launch price in 2022. As drug companies continue to hike the price of lifesaving medicines, pharmacy benefits continue to drive down costs.
Pharmacy benefit companies encourage more affordable alternatives, such as generics, which help bolster competition in the prescription drug marketplace and ultimately drive down costs for patients. This helps generate $148 billion in savings annually.
Pharmacy benefit companies have even helped make it possible for Pogo, a 21-year-old miniature poodle, to receive his four daily pills to meet his health care needs.
No matter the recipient of the medicine, the economic model of encouraging competition and negotiating to secure savings for patients is a winning formula that policymakers should embrace, not undermine.
I hope our representatives elected to represent Floridians in our nation’s capital oppose measures targeting pharmacy benefits and start to put patients, human or furry, over their own self-serving agenda to rid our prescription drug market of pro-market forces.
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Daniel Tecler resides in Tallahassee with his dog Pogo.
