(Washington, D.C.) — Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA) President and CEO JC Scott issued the following statement on today’s article in The New York Times.

“Today’s article from The New York Times fundamentally misconstrues the critical value of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs). It is clear this article was designed from the beginning to fit predetermined conclusions about the PBM industry and advance an agenda that shares common cause with the pharmaceutical industry.

“The myth that PBMs inflate drug prices originated with the pharmaceutical industry. Without the ability to negotiate for lower prescription drug costs, Americans would be paying significantly higher drug prices. PBMs have a proven track record of lowering prescription drug costs for employers, health plan sponsors, taxpayers and patients, a fact that has been verified by numerous government agencies and economic experts.

“The article lacks data and instead relies on a handful of anecdotes to make broad assertions. It disregards the role of the rest of the prescription drug supply chain, including giving brand name drug companies a free pass despite their sole power to set prices on the products they market, the majority of which are unaffected by negotiations with PBMs because they face no competition in the marketplace.

“PCMA is committed to correcting the record on this slanted, biased and incomplete story, and the false narratives it advances.”

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PCMA is the national association representing America’s pharmacy benefit companies. Pharmacy benefit companies are working every day to secure savings, enable better health outcomes, and support access to quality prescription drug coverage for more than 275 million patients.