By Molly Mulebriar
Big Pharma is taking advantage of us because we let them.
Plan sponsors and their PBM partners take center stage as invaluable, high value co-conspirators without which the Great American Rx Steal would crash and burn in self-destructive greed in a matter of days.
When we refuse to remain passively supine to the conspiracy cartel, Big Pharma gives us free drugs to keep us quiet (Patient Assistance Programs). They don’t want bad publicity leading increased public and governmental scrutiny. They already have enough of that.
Plan sponsors and their PBM partners have been effectively supporting the Big Pharma Steal thus making them co-conspirators. It’s plan member’s money they are spending wildly in the form of lower wages and less benefits. The average consumer doesn’t understand they are the ones who are paying for all of this, not private or public sector companies they work for.
Does your plan cover Indocin? “The cost of a 30-count box of indomethacin (Indocin) surged from $198 in 2008 to more than $10,000 by October 1 of this year”
Does your plan cover Duexis too? A $28,000 alternative to $120! That doesn’t make much sense to the boys in the domino parlor.
Does your plan have an open formulary automatically covering new and expensive drugs that can bankrupt a plan? Who else is making money off your Rx spend? Your broker, consultant, TPA, PBM? Do you think of Rx rebates as “rebates” or commissions? Have you compared pricing between the Big Retail Pharmacies and the Little Mom & Pop Pharmacies (guess which has the best pricing overall? You’ll be surprised by the answer) Have you compared retail pricing through each of the retail pharmacies in your community? (You’ll be shocked)
Who is looking after your best interests when it comes to Rx spend (The answer is Nobody).
When are you going to stand tall and say “Enough is Enough! I’m Mad As Hell and I’m Not Going To Take This Anymore!”
https://www.medpagetoday.com/special-reports/exclusives/95145
Molly Mulebriar is a free-lance writer from Waring, Texas and an infrequent contributor to this blog.
