“We have accomplished a feat so rarely seen in Washington. We’ve brought the most extreme democrats and republicans together to agree and work towards the same goal.”   – Dr. Nikki Adams-Bryant, Adams Family Pharmacy, Preston GA On Thursday, December 11th, 55 pharmacy professionals from 22 states and the District of Columbia joined Representatives Jake Auchincloss (D-MA), Diana Harshbarger (R-TN), Sanford Bishop (D-GA), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), and House Oversight Chair James Co

December 11, 2025 Washington, DC To learn more about the Pharmacists Fight Back Act and to contact your federal legislator, visit PharmacistsFightBack.org

Mark your calendars for Thursday, December 11, 10 am ET . That’s when Representatives Jake Auchincloss and Diana Harshbarger, together with some of our profession’s most outspoken advocates, will announce the filing of the Pharmacists Fight Back Act  bills in Medicaid/Medicare and the federal employee benefits plan.  Following on the heels of Representative Buddy Carter's PBM Reform Act (HR 4317), the Pharmacists Fight Back Act bills  are the most comprehensive federal PBM re

Let’s cut straight to it: the most powerful voice in healthcare policy isn’t a lobbyist, a trade association, or a polished talking point crafted in a Washington office. It’s a constituent. A real human being who can look their lawmaker in the eye and say, “Here is what your decisions are doing to my community.” And in pharmacy, that voice is us . The word “lobbying” actually has a colorful history.  It traces back to the days when someone would wait in the lobbies of legisla

It’s time! The most comprehensive federal pro-pharmacy/pharmacy patient PBM reform legislation is poised to be filed, so it’s time for all of us  to take the first step of our campaign - yes, during the government shutdown - to support advancing this legislation to eventual successful enactment. A Quick PFB Recap: Two Bills, One Mission The  Pharmacists Fight Back Act  (PFB) is now strategically split into two bills to allow for relevant jurisdictional process. “PFB Medicare

You’ve probably heard of ghost kitchens, those restaurants that exist only on delivery apps with no physical storefront for customers to visit. But have you ever heard of ghost networks? They’re not spooky Halloween décor or the latest streaming conspiracy. Ghost networks are the phantom pharmacy networks that pharmacy benefit managers and insurance companies claim to exist on paper, but have little basis in reality. If you’ve ever tried to help a patient find an in-network p

Your Move America TRICARE. You already know what’s happening. You’ve seen the reimbursement rates. You’ve watched patients walk away empty-handed because their TRICARE plan won’t let you fill their prescriptions. You’ve eaten the cost on both brands and generics while wondering how this could be real. You’ve weathered being paid $0.84 in total to dispense. And you’ve kept showing up — because that’s what pharmacists do. But knowing isn’t enough anymore. TRICARE isn’t just bro

Are We Talking About the Same Middlemen?  Following President Trump’s announcement today of “TrumpRx”, a new executive initiative to help lower patient drug costs, we thought  for a minute the Chief Executive might have gotten pharmacies confused with PBMs.  Currently there are not enough details to know exactly what TrumpRx is or how it would work, but we can all agree that patient safety cannot be compromised by removing access to trusted pharmacy professionals. Even if Tru

There will never be a better opportunity to swing out big for aggressive, meaningful PBM reform. The moment is now. Let’s do this...

Author: Kayla Copeland At the heart of Tennessee’s PBM reforms is the Maximum Allowable Cost (MAC) law. A MAC is the reimbursement cap a...

How the CBO Became PBMs’ Sidekick If you think the biggest obstacle to fixing PBMs is their billion-dollar lobby, bless your heart, because you’re only half right. The other half? A government spreadsheet in D.C. quietly strangling real reform before it ever has a chance. Meet the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). The unelected, unaccountable scorekeeper that can take a bipartisan, common-sense bill and file it under “too expensive” with the click of a keystroke. Officially,

PUTTbulletin July 2025 The politics of pharmacy and PBM reform have reached an inflection point. The era of incrementalism, such as it existed, is over. We’ve demonstrated that we’re hardworking team players, capable of being gracious and accepting when our part of PBM reform policy ends up on the cutting room floor because, well, “politics”. We’ve seen the movie making its second, third or fifth run through the halls of Congress this year and we know how it ends. So to you,

Author: Deborah Keaveny, PUTT President, MNindys Founder In June of 2020 the Minnesota Independent Pharmacists ( MNIndys ) was created as...

PUTTbulletin June 2025 As we reach the midpoint of 2025, we’re looking back with pride and joy on a remarkable 6 months of grassroots advocacy, legislative victories (some of them outright miraculous, Virginia) and our collective work to protect independent pharmacies and patient access to care. Join us celebrating these wins - your wins - with the certainty that we’re only gaining momentum, and more wins are on the way: One Big Beautiful Win: Eliminating Mandatory NADAC Repo

How ERISA, Medicare Part D, and their New “Mandate” Smokescreens Keep States from Cleaning Up the PBM Mess Every time a state passes a law to hold pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) accountable — whether it’s banning spread pricing, requiring fair reimbursement, or protecting patient choice — you can bet the PBM lawyers are already in the wings, sharpening their favorite legal sword: preemption. The two blades they use most often? ERISA and Medicare Part D. But lately, the PBM

Independent pharmacies are small businesses. That shouldn’t be a controversial statement. We employ local residents, serve vulnerable...

PUTTbulletin May 2025 Something is seriously wrong with military prescription drug pricing, and it's time we talked about it. In the coming weeks PUTT will launch what we hope to be a provocative campaign focused on some troubling - but largely unacknowledged - questions: why are our military families and taxpayers paying dramatically inflated prices for generic prescription drugs through Tricare's PBM, Express Scripts? And what are we doing about it? It’s a Problem We Can’t

Let’s cut the nonsense: pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) aren’t just shady middlemen—they’re operating a masterclass in anti-competitive...

PUTTbulletin April 2025 As you read this, the PUTT Board is in Washington D.C. taking part in NCPA’s annual Congressional Fly In. We’re excited to join our fellow members, NCPA friends and other partners in PBM reform for 2 days of face-to-face meetings with federal policy makers about the need for PBM reform NOW. On Monday, April 28, PUTT Board member Brandi Chane participated in the House Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee Panel PBMs: The Drug Middlemen Who Increase Drug Pric

The worst marriage in the history of healthcare is the unholy union of PBMs (pharmacy benefit managers) and formulary design. This carefree couple has fostered the creation of inconceivably high priced brand drugs in the U.S. market for decades, and we need an immediate annulment. Plan formularies are more influenced by quid pro quo payments between PBMs and drugmakers than clinical guidelines. Thanks to a safe harbor exemption from the Anti-Kickback Statute, PBMs can legall