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PBM Reform letter sent to FTC
This letter was sent to the FTC Chair and the other 4 Commissioners on the FTC. OPA will be vigorously working with both the legislative and regulatory avenues on PBM reform.
On July 9, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission released an Interim Staff Report titled Pharmacy Benefit Managers: The Powerful Middlemen Inflating Drug Costs and Squeezing Main Street Pharmacies. The report marks a pivotal moment in our PBM fight towards a competitive market, protecting our patients, and giving cost/price transparency to those who pay the premiums. This is the first time a regulatory agency has not just acknowledged the issue but supported the claim with facts. It would seem the FTC has stated its case for regulatory action. As you know, there is a genuine “Trust Buster” issue at hand and the FTC would be well within its power and mission to act. Ohio has been a leader on PBM reforms in the legislature and those efforts will not stop. The opening of this regulatory path provides us yet another meaningful avenue of engagement towards the reform of the pharmacy benefit, particularly at the federal level.
I have written a letter to FTC Chair Khan and her fellow commissioners. The letter serves as our opening statement to a process in which we are fully engaged. OPA has been a national leader in identifying and remediating heinous PBM schemes. With our help, Ohio Medicaid moved away from nefarious PBMs and created a new payment model other states are emulating. OPA looks forward to being a part of the solution that returns the pharmacy benefit that the competitive and transparent consumers, payers and market participants deserve.
David Burke, R.Ph., MBA
Executive Director
Ohio Pharmacists Association
