Commentary: Congress, Don’t Let Big Government and Big Pharma Win

by Kristin Dunn

 

I have previously written about the disastrous consequences of government mandates in our health care system, specifically pertaining to pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs). Unfortunately, since my piece, there seems to still be a continued push by some lawmakers in Congress to bring misguided policies to fruition. Let’s hope our representatives don’t buy into it.

It comes as no surprise that those behind these policies are the Socialist Left and Big Pharma. Both groups, wanting to serve their own special interests, are completely ignoring what’s at stake if these proposals are implemented: Higher drug costs for hardworking taxpayers, families and patients.

Pharmacy benefit companies are critical actors in the prescription drug supply chain that deliver savings for health plan sponsors like businesses and their employees who enroll in these plans. As explained by a senior fellow at the Jack Kemp Foundation, Ike Brannon: “PBMs represent their clients in negotiations with pharmaceutical companies. These insurers, governments, and the like choose to engage with PBMs because they have the ability to obtain significant discounts. PBMs typically have numerous clients, which affords them extensive experience in negotiations. What’s more, their breadth and depth of clients give them market power, allowing them to extract substantial discounts from pharmaceutical companies.”

Through these services, PBMs actually help save $1,040 per person per year. These savings shouldn’t be touched by Congress.

PBMs also encourage greater competition and act as free market forces in the prescription drug supply chain, which is why they’ve clearly become a target of the Left and Big Pharma. Make no mistake: the Socialist Left wants to undermine pharmacy benefit companies because it allows them to expand the government’s role in our health care system, and Big Pharma wants to eradicate PBMs from the supply chain because they serve as a check on big drug companies’ otherwise unlimited ability to set sky-high drug prices.

Proposals being considered in Congress include measures that would take away valuable choices, such as spread pricing, that employers currently have when they’re designing their prescription drug benefits. Employers need as many options as possible to design the benefits that work best for their needs. Allowing the government to dictate any part of that would be detrimental to businesses and patients alike.

There are other policies that would actually ban market-based incentives to secure bigger savings for employers and the people they cover through their pharmacy benefit plans. “Delinking,” as it is known, would prevent PBMs from being able to share in the savings they’re able to secure through their negotiations with Big Pharma companies. One analysis found that, if this kind of policy is implemented in the commercial health insurance market, health care premiums would increase by a staggering $26 billion annually.

To no surprise, in this post-‘delinking’ world, the same analysis found that Big Pharma would be rewarded with increased drug profits of around $22 billion every year. It’s no wonder Big Pharma companies are pushing for these proposals so aggressively: It pads their pockets.

The Tennessee delegation was elected to serve us and protect our free market. Conservative lawmakers should not side with more government mandates targeting our pharmacy benefit companies, as such proposals go against our core principles when it comes to the size and scope of government’s role in our health care system. We cannot let the Left and Big Pharma win this fight, especially with hardworking Americans left to bear additional financial burdens we simply cannot afford.

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Kristi Dunn is a mother, health care worker, and activist based in Wilson County, Tennessee.