Pharmacists United for Truth and Transparency

PUTT Blog

Fines, Investigations and Fired PBMs ... in Only 8 months

If you're worried about the impact of the seemingly inevitable CVS/Aetna merger, consider the following:

On February 8, 2018, Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge opened an investigation into the CVS Caremark reimbursement rates to Arkansas pharmacies, much to the delight of her state's community pharmacies -- and the nation. Ms. Rutledge took a bold and remarkable stand against PBM abuse. Since that day:

The State of Kentucky fined CVS/Caremark $1.5 million for committing 454 reimbursement violations and 38 violations related to providing inconsistent or inaccurate information to the state’s Department of Insurance.
The State of West Virginia, which had removed all PBMs including CVS/Caremark from participating in its Medicaid program, continues to see savings ...

PBMs In the News

Attorneys general fighting for right to regulate pharmacy middlemen
By Katie Wedell
Originally published in Dayton Daily News, 11/21/18

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine joined 32 other attorneys general in filing an amicus brief in the United States Supreme Court on Wednesday, supporting states’ rights to regulate pharmacy benefit managers and address the rising cost of prescription drugs.

Pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs, act as middlemen between pharmacies, drug manufacturers, health insurance plans, and consumers for access to prescription drugs. The brief argues that regulation of PBMs is a matter for state authority in protecting the access to and affordability of prescription drugs.

“States’ experience has been that improving transparency in drug pricing requires regulation of PBMs,” the brief says. “Unlike other actors in the drug market, PBMs feature in almost all of the key transactions ..."

Pharmacists United for Truth and Transparency (PUTT) is a non-profit advocacy organization founded by independent pharmacists and pharmacy owners devoted to exposing the truth about the anti-competitive tactics of pharmacy benefits managers (PBMs) - drug benefits plan providers whose unregulated, secretive practices drive up prescription costs and annually waste hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars.