Tennessee U.S. Representative John Rose (R-TN-06) recently joined three of his colleagues in introducing the Neighborhood Options for Patients Buying Medicines (NO PBMs) Act.
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Commentary: The Left’s Misguided Attempt at a Drug Pricing ‘Fix’
Here in Tennessee, we stand up for what’s best for our communities and do what we can to encourage our elected officials to act in the best interests of our families and taxpayers. In health care, it often becomes convoluted and hard to decipher what will actually improve the lives of patients. When it comes to prescription drug affordability, prices continue to skyrocket and we need our lawmakers to do what they can to effectively lower costs and reject policies that will actually hurt patients and families.
Read the full storyCommentary: Republicans Must Not Surrender to Bernie Sanders on Healthcare
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: the GOP needs an effective healthcare agenda. There are many policies and programs they could be championing to help families deal with rising costs — especially now with control in the House and a slim Democratic majority in the Senate — but unfortunately, they’ve failed to capitalize on this issue so far.
Republicans are missing an important opening; last year 90 percent of voters said a candidate’s plan for reducing the cost of healthcare would be important to them and 39 percent went so far as to say they would likely cross party lines to vote for a candidate who makes reducing healthcare costs their top priority!
Read the full storyKatie Hobbs Breaks Arizona Veto Record for a Single Session
The Arizona Senate Majority Caucus released a statement Tuesday, announcing that Governor Katie Hobbs had vetoed another 11 bills, bringing her total to 63 and surpassing the previous record for most legislation vetoed in a single session.
“Vetoing is a tool that weak leaders will use in an effort to control legislative priorities, and we’re witnessing this tactic front and center from Katie Hobbs,” said Senate President Pro Tempore T.J. Shope (R-Coolidge). “Instead of demonstrating diplomacy and bipartisanship, the Governor is showcasing her failure to work across the aisle. Instead of accomplishing the priorities of our citizens and strengthening our communities, she’s done little outside of hosting press gaggles and photo ops with activist groups and Democrats alike.”
Read the full storyCommentary: For High Healthcare Costs, S.127 Is Bad Medicine
Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is reportedly considering bringing a Big Pharma-backed bill to the Senate floor for a vote that would result in higher healthcare costs for everyday Americans. The so-called Pharmacy Benefit Manager Transparency Act (S.127) was written and pushed by special interests. If it passes, it will hurt all of us both in our wallets and in terms of the quality of our healthcare.
Read the full storyMiyares Joins Amicus Brief Supporting Oklahoma Law Regulating Pharmacy Benefit Managers
Attorney General Jason Miyares has joined 34 other attorneys general in an amicus brief supporting Oklahoma’s laws regulating pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs). Miyares’ press release said Virginia’s laws are similar to Oklahoma’s, and the regulations are necessary to protect consumers and pharmacies against PBMs, which act as middlemen between insurance providers, pharmacies, and drug manufacturers.
“Virginians’ healthcare costs continue to rise, and PBMs are partially to blame. Virginia has enacted laws to protect consumers from abusive PBM practices—including laws I supported in the General Assembly. Now, as your Attorney General, protecting consumers is one of my most important jobs, and I will continue to fight for these laws and the consumers they protect,” Miyares said.
Read the full storyCommentary: Federal Trade Commission May Finally Bring Down the Hammer on Pharmacy Benefit Managers
Amidst rising prescription drug prices, consumers may finally be getting some much-needed relief if the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) follows through with a recent pledge to investigate Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) for anticompetitive practices.Â
Read the full storyMichigan Senate Passes Bill to Lower Prescription Drug Prices
The Michigan Senate approved a bipartisan plan to reduce prescription drug prices in the state.
House Bill 4348 aims to save patients money by regulating pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) who serve as facilitators between health plans, drug manufacturers and pharmacists.
Read the full storyCommentary: Middlemen Who Control the Prescription Drug Market Are Responsible for Rising Insulin and Drug Prices
Why is insulin, invented more than 100 years ago, still unaffordable for many of America’s 10 million diabetics who rely on it?
Politicians reflexively blame pharmaceutical manufacturers. Sen. Bernie Sanders asked rhetorically in November, “What possible reason, other than greed, could there be for the pharmaceutical industry to raise the price of insulin by more than 1,400%?”
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel recently announced plans to investigate rising insulin prices as a pretext for increased government regulation of the market. “While drug companies profit off of people’s health, they also benefit from a current market in which they control the pricing,” she proclaimed. “Enough is enough.”
Read the full storyDave Yost Files Lawsuit Targeting a Pharmacy Benefit Manager Company for Allegedly Making Millions by Overcharging Ohio
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost filed a lawsuit against Express Scripts, a pharmacy benefit manager (PBM), for allegedly breaking multiple contracts that allowed the company to profit millions from overcharges to the state.
A PBM is a company that controls the drug benefit program for employers or health plans according to verywellhealth.com.
Read the full storyOhio’s AG Yost Tells OptumRx ‘We’ll See You in Court’ for Overbilling the State’s Bureau of Workers Compensation Millions
Attorney General Dave Yost announced Monday he amended his lawsuit filed against pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) OptumRx, claiming the PBM excessively charged the Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation for generic drugs. The overcharge totaled nearly $16 million. It is now “significantly more.”
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