Meet the ‘shadowy middleman’ — or at least the spokesperson of the professional
organization representing pharmacy benefit managers, the group that Gov. Mikie Sherrill called out during her first budget address Tuesday afternoon.
Sherrill said PBMs are the reason why prescription costs are so high. She said they use
“secret manufacturer rebates and insider tricks” to drive up the cost of medications as
much as 10 times.
Greg Lopes, representing the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association, said
that’s simply not true.
“The governor’s remarks about pharmacy benefit managers are simply untrue and
misleading to New Jersey patients, and it is imperative to correct the record,” he said.
“The mission of PBMs is to reduce prescription drug costs, and they do so highly
effectively – saving New Jersey families thousands of dollars. It is the reason they exist.”
Secret deals? Insider tricks?
“No,” and “no,” Lopes said.
“PBMs are fully transparent,” he said. “In recent years, PBMs have made fundamental
changes to increase transparency for government programs, like Medicaid, employers,
and patients.”
Lopes came with literal receipts.
“Contrary to Gov. Sherrill’s assertion, PBMs are working every day to lower prescription
drug costs for New Jersey patients,” he said. “PBMs save an average of $1,154 per
person annually for the 8.3 million New Jerseyans they serve and over the next ten
years, that work will save the state more than $37 billion.”
Lopes came with a suggestion of who is actually responsible.
“To meaningfully reduce drug costs, Gov. Sherrill and New Jersey’s lawmakers should
focus their attention on the drug manufacturers that are setting exorbitant prices and
blocking lower cost generic drugs from the market,” he said. “In addition, prescription
drug wholesalers operate with little oversight and transparency over generic drug
pricing.”
And finally, Lopes came with a desire to work together.
“The good news is PBMs and Gov. Sherrill share the goal of lowering drug costs,” he
said. “We are eager to work together.
“To achieve our shared goal, it will be crucial to take an honest and holistic approach to
examining the causes for high drug costs. We stand ready to explain how PBMs work to
lower costs, with total transparency, and we look forward to working together to make
prescription drugs more accessible and affordable for all New Jersey patients.”
