PCMA pins pricing blame on pharma

Following a US Senate Finance Committee hearing on the challenges surrounding prescription drug affordability and innovation earlier this week, the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA) has issued a statement that might not surprise long-term critics of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs).

The PCMA represents the USA’s PBMs, organizations that negotiate with pharma on drug prices on behalf of insurers. They have faced criticism, including from pharma leaders, that, as the supposed opaque middlemen of the industry, they are taking an unfair cut and are driving up costs for insurers and patients.

"Getting rid of rebates and other price concessions would leave patients and payers, including Medicaid and Medicare, at the mercy of drug manufacturer pricing strategies"