PCMA: Surveys show seniors are saving more money with new benefit

(Washington, DC)—In response to new attacks today from the drugstore lobby on the Medicare prescription drug benefit, the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA) issued the following statement. PCMA is the national association representing America’s pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), which administer prescription drug plans for more than 200 million Americans with health coverage provided through small businesses, Fortune 500 employers, health insurers, labor unions, and Medicare Part D.

“The Medicare prescription drug benefit is working as Congress and the Administration intended: almost 40 million senior and disabled beneficiaries have access to Medicare drug coverage which is providing deep discounts on the prescription drugs they need. A recent Washington Post/ABC News poll revealed that 63 percent of seniors said they were saving money with the new program.

“Regrettably, the drugstore lobby—which earns its greatest profits from uninsured cash paying customers—continues to attack the new drug benefit and the cost-saving tools it employs. Prior to the new Medicare drug benefit, seniors—especially seniors without drug coverage—were paying some of the highest costs of all for their prescription drugs. Seniors were at the mercy of drugstores, while public programs also paid too much for drugs before the advent of Medicare Part D. According to the government’s own data from the Office of Inspector General, prior to Medicare Part D, Medicaid was shown to have overpaid pharmacists for drugs by an average of 47 percent. The federal government is now helping states adjust for these overpayments in Medicaid in order to avoid making the same mistakes in Medicare.

“In part because of proven PBM tools, researchers from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently estimated that seniors enrolled in Medicare drug plans are now seeing discounts averaging 27 percent â?? up markedly from earlier projections of 15 percent discounts. PCMA’s own analysis found that on average seniors are saving 35 percent on drugs purchased at a retail pharmacy compared to cash-paying customers and 46 percent for drugs purchased through mail-service pharmacies. In addition to these findings, numerous independent, government data â?? including studies from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), and the Government Accountability Office (GAO) â?? have found that PBMs and the proven tools they utilize help drive down the cost of prescription drugs.

“The drugstore lobby should consider ending their attacks on a program which offers so much vital assistance to the seniors whom they serve.”

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The Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA) is the national trade association representing America’s pharmaceutical benefit managers (PBMs). PCMA member companies provide pharmaceutical care management services to more than 200 million Americans.

Contact Information:
Phil Blando, 202-207-3614
Charles Coté 202-207-3605