3 ms·
Manufacturers, PBMs, and pharmacies (which are mostly owned by the PBMs, surprise) make a big fuss about their independent competition, while in fact they are f
by wrs 3y ago
Manufacturers, PBMs, and pharmacies (which are mostly owned by the PBMs, surprise) make a big fuss about their independent competition, while in fact they are fully intertwined in a profit-extracting arrangement unique to the USA.
One obvious way to reduce prices would be to have the largest customer negotiate better prices, right? Fun fact: Medicare was not allowed to negotiate drug prices until 2022. [0]
[0] https://www.kff.org/medicare/issue-brief/explaining-the-prescription-drug-provisions-in-the-inflation-reduction-act/ https://www.kff.org/medicare/issue-brief/explaining-the-pres...
- jellicle 3y agoMedicare still isn't. There's a two-year (!!) negotiation process for ten (10) drugs (!!) that takes effect in 2026. A disgusting way to run a health system.
- wrs 3y agoYeah. I didn’t want to get into my whole rant, but while this was a breakthrough, it is a small, slow breakthrough. If you want to see the sordid history of this restriction read the “Legislative History” on Wikipedia. [0] tl;dr the congressman responsible for this provision in the 2003 law was subsequently hired as chief lobbyist for the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medicare_Prescription_Drug,_Improvement,_and_Modernization_Act https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medicare_Prescription_Drug,_Im...