Tom, Dick and Harry go to the same drug store to pick up the same drug, through the same PBM, on the same day. Each is asked to pick their price behind doors number 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5. Tom picks Door #1 much to the pharmacist’s displeasure. Dick picks Door #3 as the pharmacist nods approval. Harry picks Door #5 and the pharmacist belts out a joyful YES!
“Within this report, we repeatedly observed drugs with known low acquisition costs, such as duloxetine, having multiple (and highly varied) price points – price points that cannot be readily attributed to either the drug manufacturer or the pharmacy provider. The most extreme example of this was a single pharmacy who, on a single day, for the same product (on an NDC basis), at the same quantity, was paid five unique prices by the same PBM, ranging from $9.30 per prescription to $96 per prescription.”
SOURCE: Unravelling the Drug Pricing Blame Game — 3 ∆XIS Advisors (3axisadvisors.com)
