Letter: PBM's are unchecked and are hurting us.

I’ve been on a combination of antidepressant medications for over a decade. With this medication, I’m able to feel normal almost instantly every morning I take it.

But whenever I miss my medication, I get terrible headaches, and it takes a few days to get readjusted. I take generic medication to save on costs, but even their prices have increased in recent years. After doing some research, I found out that a big reason for this is the presence of Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) in our drug marketplace.

PBMs are unchecked middlemen that control 80% of all treatments on the market. This means they have a disproportionate grip on access to medication, and they frequently abuse their power to send patients to specific pharmacies that give them more cash back in rebates, hurting patients’ well-being.

Patients shouldn’t be left at the whims of shady middlemen, and the DRUG Act ensures that will no longer be the case.

Sincerely,

Ramina Isaac

Ramina Izaak

Sahuarita

Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.