1,000 signatures reached
To: Commissioner Christine Wilson and Commissioner Noah Phillips
Investigate Prescription Drug Middlemen
Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) work to jack up the price of life-saving drugs like insulin, steal from community pharmacies until they go bankrupt, and turn pharmacy care -- one of the most important (and often only) sources of health care for rural patients -- into a living nightmare.
FTC Commissioner Noah Phillips and Commissioner Christine Wilson must stop blocking efforts to open an investigation into PBMs.
Why is this important?
Last month, Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Commissioners Noah Phillips and Christine Wilson blocked an investigation into Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) – the pharmaceutical industry’s giant corporate middlemen that result in higher prices across the country.
Now we have a chance to fight back against these prescription drug middlemen, but we need your help.
77% of all prescriptions filled nationwide are controlled by three PBMs, all owned by the largest health insurers: Caremark (owned by CVS), OptumRx (owned by United Health), and Express Scripts (owned by Cigna).
PBMs decide what pharmacies you can use, which of your medications are covered by insurance, and how much you, the pharmacy, and your insurance company must pay, giving them immense control over drug prices in the United States.
Defenders of Big Pharma would tell you PBMs aim to lower drug costs and help patients efficiently access medications. In reality, PBMs work to jack up the price of life-saving drugs like insulin, steal from community pharmacies until they go bankrupt, and turn pharmacy care -- one of the most important (and often only) sources of health care for rural patients -- into a living nightmare.
When FTC Chair Lina Khan first pushed to investigate PBMs’ role in sky-rocketing drug prices and illegal monopolistic practices, Commissioners Noah Phillips and Christine Wilson blocked the investigation.
Chair Khan can call for another vote, but Commissioners Phillips and Wilson must hear from Americans demanding that they reconsider their vote and allow the FTC to conduct this essential study. Together our voices can be louder than the pharmaceutical industry’s.