EMPOWER Patients praises Governor, lawmakers for taking on PBMs
January 24, 2023
By Drew Wilson | Florida Politics
A coalition of independent and community pharmacists and pharmacies praised Gov. Ron DeSantis and the state House for bringing attention to pharmacy benefit managers and the impact they have on prescription drug prices.
Pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs, negotiate with drug manufacturers on behalf of insurance companies to purchase drugs at reduced prices or promise additional rebates.
They have been pejoratively referred to as “middlemen” due to “spread pricing” — a term describing the practice of charging an insurer one price for a drug and paying the pharmacy a lower cost while pocketing the difference.
During a Tuesday meeting of the House Health and Human Services, lawmakers listened to a panel discussion on PBMs that included EMPOWER Patients member Kevin Duane, who owns the oldest operating pharmacy in Jacksonville, Panama Pharmacy.
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