Mar 10Bad PBM Action of the Month:Punishing a Small Town Pharmacy for an NPI Mix Up by Cutting Off Billing, Seemingly Indefinitely Robertson County, Texas is a small, picturesque county just north of College Station (home of Texas A & M). Population 16,958, it’s the last place you’d expect any kind of pharmacy chicanery. So when…Pharmacy Benefit Manager3 min readPharmacy Benefit Manager3 min read
Feb 25PCMA’s “Seven Figure” Ad Campaign with PBM-to-PBC Rebrand is Ironically Transparent in MotiveOne of the most remarkable aspects of last week’s U.S. Senate Commerce, Science & Transportation Committee hearing, (ICYMI: “Bringing Transparency and Accountability to Pharmacy Benefit Managers,”) was the number of committee members on both sides of the aisle who demonstrated a keen understanding of the PBM business model — and…Pharmacy Benefit Manager2 min readPharmacy Benefit Manager2 min read
Jan 312023: New Year, New Leadership and an Intensified Focus on Ending PBM AbuseJanuary’s come and gone while here at PUTT we’ve been actively developing PBM education programs and meeting with industry leaders and influencers over the last 4 weeks. …Pharmacy Benefit Manager4 min readPharmacy Benefit Manager4 min read
Dec 21, 2022PUTT’s 2022 Year in ReviewHappy Holidays! Is it 2023 yet? Kidding! 2022 was such a good year for PBM reform, we’ll be a bit sad to say goodbye. We spent much of this year focused on PBM reform education, with PUTT Executive Director Monique Whitney participating on panels at the annual Community Oncology Alliance…Advocacy4 min readAdvocacy4 min read
Nov 23, 2022Little Debbie vs. Independent Pharmacy: 5 Things to Know About a Tennessee Lawsuit that Could Impact How States Take On PBM ReformNext Wednesday, November 30th, a hearing will take place on a lawsuit you’ve likely never heard of, but which may have lasting implications for independent pharmacies in PBM reform battleground states. …Pharmacy3 min readPharmacy3 min read
Oct 24, 2022Federal Government: Why Do You Continue to Do Business With Known Criminals?To Congress, the Department of Defense, and Federal Government Contract Decision Makers: Today marks the first day 15,000 community pharmacies across the U.S. can no longer serve active duty and retired military covered by TRICARE. It’s a drastic cut orchestrated by Cigna-owned Express Scripts in the name of “cost savings”…Medicare4 min readMedicare4 min read
Sep 24, 2022“Lost Care and Broken Promises”: TriCare Cuts Veteran Access to 15,000 Pharmacies Nationwide Beginning October 2022“You should expect a choice of health care providers that is sufficient to ensure access to appropriate high-quality health care.” — TRICARE Beneficiary Brochure An apt description of how most of us already feel, “Lost Care and Broken Promises” is actually how Military.com first labeled the travesty of TRICARE decisions…Tricare2 min readTricare2 min read
Aug 15, 2022UnitedHealth / Change Healthcare Merger: Could This Time Be Different?This month the Department of Justice (DOJ) meets UnitedHealth Group in court in an attempt to block the latter’s planned acquisition of Change Healthcare, not so much a healthcare company as a healthcare software company, whose value lies in its claims transmission and payment information services. …Monopoly2 min readMonopoly2 min read
Jul 26, 2022Open Letter to PCMA: Your Wounds are Self-Inflicted and Could Prove FatalDear PCMA, We need to talk. It’s not good news. First, we feel we should thank you. Remarkably, your clients have somehow united the U.S. in a way usually reserved for terrorist attacks and tragic natural disasters. Also, we’re impressed at your latest PR offensive. How fascinating to watch the…Pharmacy Benefit Manager3 min readPharmacy Benefit Manager3 min read
May 20, 2022A Drugmaker’s Tale: How $34 Billion in Rebates Is Keeping Commercial Insurers and PBMs Flush with Cash While Hanging Everyone Else Out to DryLast month, Janssen Pharmaceuticals released its 5th annual U.S. Transparency Report with a notable new addition: a detailed synopsis of how rebates, now hard-wired into insurance benefit design, essentially derail patients from accessing affordable medication. These access to care issues occur even as an elite group of Fortune 15 insurers…Pharmaceutical3 min readPharmaceutical3 min read