PCMA: PBM Tools & Techniques Lower Prescription Drug Costs for Consumers & Payors
(Washington, DC)—The Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA) released the following statement in response to yet another attack from the drugstore lobby on affordable prescription drugs for seniors and the disabled:
“The tools and techniques pioneered by pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) are projected to save consumers and private and public payors at least $1.3 trillion on drug spending by 2014. These savings mean that working families have more money to spend on groceries, rent, and other necessities. For employers, these savings help the US economy remain more competitive and allow them to create new jobs and continue to offer health benefits to their workers.
“For seniors and the disabled in Medicare Part D, PBM tools and techniques mean lower premiums and drug costs. Prior to Medicare Part D, seniors and the uninsured paid some of the highest drug prices of all at the retail pharmacy counter. With the advent of Medicare Part D, individual seniors now have the protection of drug plans negotiating on their behalf against the $174 billion drugstore industry. Seniors are seeing deep discounts averaging 27 percent, lower-than-expected premiums, and are increasingly satisfied with the new drug benefit.
“Since 2002, no less than 10 studies from independent researchers and government agencies Ă¢?? including the Government Accountability Office, Congressional Budget Office, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, and the Federal Trade Commission Ă¢?? have documented the savings that PBMs provide to consumers, payors, and the system at large.
“These savings have come at a time when the $174 billion drugstore industry is thriving. In 2006, a new pharmacy is projected to open every 12 hours. Average pharmacist salaries are nearing $100,000 and closing in on the average lawyer’s pay. Independent pharmacies continue to grow and their owners rank among the nation’s top four-percent wage earners. A recent report from the US Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) found that pharmacy employment is expected to grow “faster than average through 2014,” due in part to “coverage of prescription drugs by a greater number of health insurance plans and Medicare.”
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PCMA is the national association representing America’s pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), which lower the cost of prescription drugs for more than 200 million Americans with coverage provided through Fortune 500 employers, health insurers, labor unions, and Medicare Part D
Contact Information:
Phil Blando, 202-207-3614
Charles Coté 202-207-3605