Are Michigan’s drug prices about to get higher?

by Universalwellnesssystems April 7, 2023

written by Universalwellnesssystems April 7, 2023

Jonathan C. Kinloch

Lobbyists are waging war against those who bargain to lower the price of your medicine.This war is taking a toll on your wallet, your health, and possibly even your life.

As a former union employee and current county commissioner, I have always made it a priority to keep health care costs low. That is why I am so concerned that politicians in Washington are inadvertently bidding big pharma companies to raise the price of prescription drugs for corporate profit.

I’ve seen the pain caused by rising drug prices here in Michigan.of alone in 2017, 32% of Michiganians aged 19 to 64 decided they could not afford to continue taking their prescribed medication. When people get sick and can no longer afford the help they need, medical costs inevitably become expensive for everyone.

We cannot allow lobbyists to linger on this issue in Lansing or Washington, DC.

A new bill in the US Congress called the PBM Transparency Act seeks to fundamentally change the way Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) do business.

PBMs administer health insurance plans run by unions, governments, and corporations. We may also negotiate with pharmaceutical companies to obtain savings that help pharmacies, medical patients, health care plans, and American taxpayers save money by purchasing pharmaceuticals in bulk from them.

However, the PBM Transparency Act would force PBM to report all rebates to the federal government, giving pharmaceutical companies a substantial edge in future negotiations. why? That way, pharmaceutical companies can know what deals their competitors are getting.

If the federal government forced PBMs to disclose all their transactions, Pharmaceutical Company A would find that Pharmaceutical Company B would pay PBM less rebates. The end result is that Pharmaceutical Company A will demand the same, less rebate payment, and prescription drug prices will skyrocket.

From my experience in health insurance as a county commissioner handling health insurance weekly and as a union representative in Michigan, I believe that if PBM loses the negotiations, the patient loses out looking at their health insurance. please give me. monthly drug bill.

When you hire a professional to represent you, such as a union, lawyer, agent, manager, or real estate agent, you expect that person to negotiate on your behalf to the best of their ability. You suffer if the government creates stifling new laws that undermine your agent’s bargaining strategy. Now put yourself in the shoes of the millions of Americans trying to negotiate with the big monopoly drug companies. Wouldn’t you like her PBM on your behalf to do the best job for you?

We are not talking about selling a home or arbitrating a business contract in this scenario. We’re talking about the process of getting sick people the medicine they need to keep breathing. It is downright despicable for a drug manufacturer’s lobbyist to try to damage his PBM under the false banner of lowering drug costs.

Washington’s politicians aren’t the only ones caught up in these lobbyist issues. Michigan also has a few. Last year, the state legislature passed three of his bills to regulate her PBM with the same kind of “transparency” handcuffs that the PBM Transparency Act is currently trying to impose nationwide. They touted their efforts as an attempt to keep prescription drug costs down, but only pharmaceutical companies benefited. Are you in?

Action is needed to stop the PBM Transparency Act. We cannot allow drug prices to rise. Here in Michigan they are already high enough. I can only hope that the Michigan senators will listen.

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