New PCMA Ad Campaign: 'It's the Oklahoma Drugstore Lobby vs. Employers'

New Regulations Could Increase Prescription Drug Costs $1.7 Billion

WASHINGTON, March 26, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- As the Oklahoma drugstore lobby launches new attacks seeking to undermine tools used by pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) to lower prescription drug costs, the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA) released a new ad campaign defending the rights of employers to reduce wasteful pharmacy spending. As the ad says, employers think, "It's wrong" for the Oklahoma drugstore lobby "to force businesses to pay more for prescription drugs." 

"The agenda promoted by the Oklahoma drugstore lobby would enrich pharmacies by making every other business pay more for prescription drugs," said PCMA President and CEO Mark Merritt.

This special interest legislation (H.B. 2100) could increase prescription drug costs $1.7 billion for the state's employers, seniors, state employee plans, unions, and consumers.

Click here to see the new ad.

"It's the Oklahoma Drugstore Lobby vs. Employers in the Fight to Reduce Prescription Drug Costs"
Vote NO on H.B. 2100

The Oklahoma drugstore lobby agenda includes:

• New employer mandates that raise costs and reduce choices.
• Giving drugstores new powers to charge consumers more for prescription drugs.
• Forcing employers to pay more for prescription drugs.

The Federal Trade Commission examined similar Board of Pharmacy legislation and found it would make "collusion easier and increase prescription drug prices if the Pharmacy Board obtains and discloses PBMs' competitively sensitive information to pharmaceutical manufacturers, pharmacists, and pharmacies."

A recent legal analysis from Bloomberg/BNA that examined State of Boards of Pharmacy also noted:

"Pharmacy boards unlawfully expand beyond 'self-regulatory' authority in regulating PBMs, because the management of employer-provided drug benefit programs is not an activity of pharmacist 'self-regulation.' These are not 'self-regulatory' activities concerned with maintaining the professional competence of pharmacists. State pharmacy boards should be 'reformed' to confine their authority solely to 'self-regulating' the competency and behavior of pharmacists."

PCMA represents the nation's pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), which improve affordability and quality of care through the use of electronic prescribing (e-prescribing), generic alternatives, mail-service pharmacies, and other innovative tools for 215 million Americans.

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SOURCE Pharmaceutical Care Management Association