Mt. Lebanon native Mark Cuban spoke to reporters Wednesday saying: “We’re trying to disrupt an industry that needs disrupted.” He was talking about pharmacy benefit managers, also called PBM’s. Why?
- Prescription drug prices have gone up three times faster than inflation since 1985.
- Since 2014, prescription drug costs have increased 37%.
- And Americans pay more. In 2022, US prices were almost three times higher than 33 developed nations.
Many of those countries have a centralized price control strategy. But not the United States. Instead, there’s a middleman in the form of pharmacy benefit managers. Cuban says just six of them control 98% of rebate negotiations, the discounts arranged between PBMs and drug makers.
Guess who’s not at the negotiating table? The consumer. But now people have access to transparent drug pricing. The Plus program buys drugs at lower prices and sells them with a 15% markup.
Independent pharmacies are doing the same.
Giving consumers choice lowers inflated drug costs and we applaud Cost Plus and Giant Eagle for expanding a program that can save people money.