""Since Congress' near‑win on PBM reform in December 2024 - another missed opportunity that fell just short of enactment - the devastation of pharmacy access for patients and communities has only worsened," the letter stated. "In the months since that lost attempt to help solve the problem, pharmacies have closed at an alarming net rate of more than six per day, an acceleration of the nearly four-per-day net closing rate of 2023 and 2024.""
""Numerous efforts have been attempted to reform PBMs, though with little success. For example, in December 2024, the federal government almost passed a spending bill that would have cracked down on PBMs, but this provision was taken out at the last minute.""
""The organizations added that in just the last year, more than 2,200 pharmacies have closed and Americans have lost more than 13% of their pharmacies since January 2018 on a net basis.""
A coalition of pharmacy organizations urged Congressional leaders to take action to reform pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) practices. PBMs have faced scrutiny for vertical integration with insurers and practices that inflate drug prices. The three largest PBMs — CVS Caremark, Cigna's Express Scripts and UnitedHealth Group's Optum Rx — control about 80% of the prescription drug market. Numerous reform efforts have stalled, including a near‑pass in December 2024 when a spending‑bill provision targeting PBMs was removed. Pharmacy access has worsened: pharmacies are closing at more than six net per day recently, with over 2,200 closures in the last year and a net 13% loss since January 2018.
Read at MedCity News
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