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I’m gifting a New York Times article on new legislation affecting Pharmacy Benefit Managers. There’s a lot of detail, but since the PBMs apparently opposed it, maybe it will help a little.
The medication I used to take for rheumatoid arthritis cost $2,000/month retail when it went on the market around 2012 (even though some of the research was funded by the government), but had risen to $6,500/month retail by the time I stopped taking it ten years later…
Thanks. It is a step in the right direction.
This legislation is a red herring with minimal if any significant impact, but one may be to raise the premiums workers have to pay for employer coverage because employer plans – mostly self funded- give up some of the discounts.
Prescription drugs are a very visible target because some drugs are very expensive as you point out. However, drugs represent about 10% of health care spending. The average retail price for prescriptions is around $80, but that is driven by really expensive specialty drugs.