Voters wary of PBMs, NCPA poll finds
By HME News Staff
Updated 8:12 AM CDT, Fri May 5, 2023
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ALEXANDRIA, Va. – The majority of voters know very little or nothing about pharmacy benefit managers, the largest three of which control 80% of all prescriptions in the U.S., according to a new national poll conducted by Morning Consult and released by the National Community Pharmacists Association. Eighty percent are concerned that PBMs steer patients to pharmacies their own or control to maximize their own profit, and 78% are concerned that PBMS often require patients to use their own mail-order pharmacies instead of local pharmacies. “When you explain to voters the dominant role that PBMs play in the prescription drug market, and the outsized control they have over patients and their health care providers, they are very concerned,” said NCPA CEO B. Douglas Hoey, pharmacist, MBA. “The data makes that crystal clear, and it cuts across every political and demographic group. If ever there was an opportunity for Congress to pass bipartisan reform, that time is right now.” Additionally, 80% voters are concerned that PBMs keep all or most of the discounts on drugs they negotiate instead of passing the savings on to consumers. The poll, conducted between April 19-22, sampled 1,969 registered voters.
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