Mark Cuban and FTC's Lina Khan at White House to discuss PBM reform
Cost Plus Drugs CEO Mark Cuban was invited to the White House, along with other business and government leaders, to discuss PBM reform, while a trade group for pharmacy benefit managers said they were not invited.
The push to rein in pharmacy benefit managers moved from the Capitol Hill to the White House on Monday. Billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban and Democratic Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear joined FTC Chair Lina Khan in calling for reform.
“I genuinely believe that CEOs do not understand how their health-care costs work, particularly as it applies to the rebates they receive from their PBMs,” Cuban said. “They tend to look at rebates as cash paid by the drug manufacturers. Nothing could be further from the truth. The reality is that the rebates are not paid for by the drug manufacturers. The rebates are paid for by these companies’ sickest and oldest employees.”
Cuban owns Cost Plus Drugs, which sells pharmaceuticals at a fixed 15% markup and has worked to establish itself as an option for people to obtain lower-priced medicines by cutting out PBMs. He called on states to stop doing business with the top three PBMs — CVS Health’s Caremark, Cigna’s Express Scripts and UnitedHealth’s Optum Rx.
Beshear said increased transparency around PBMs, as his state has done, can better allow for savings to pass through to consumers. However, Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said on Sunday that similar legislation pending in the Senate Finance Committee may not be enacted until after the November elections.
Meanwhile, the FTC is conducting its own investigation into PBMs. Khan said some have not yet complied with FTC orders to turn over documents and data, and that the agency will use its authority to make sure they do so. “FTC orders are not suggestions,” she said. “We will not hesitate to use the full extent of our legal authorities to mandate compliance.”
Related: Mark Cuban is taking on Big Pharma, in a quest to help employers lower drug costs
Although the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association didn’t attend the White House meeting, it had plenty to say about the issues discussed: “Today’s White House listening session on PBMs, where policymakers only hear from people and groups with vocal anti-PBM agendas, will make for a biased and unproductive discussion,” it said in a statement. “The PBM market is diverse and competitive, giving employers and plan sponsors choice and flexibility in managing prescription drug costs. Unfortunately, today’s event serves to promote only one model and one perspective.”