6 days ago2023: 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
Jan 28, 2022The Battle for America’s Prescription Drug SystemPrescription drug cost is one of the few issues everyone can agree needs addressing, yet very few politicians seem able to abandon party-line rhetoric to confront the issue. Wealthy corporate campaign donations are now overriding basic common sense when it comes to reining in obvious systemic problems. Like climate change…Prescription Drug Costs2 min readPrescription Drug Costs2 min read
Dec 20, 2021The Highs, The Lows, & The WTH’s: PUTT’s 2021 Year in ReviewIf you thought 2021, aka the follow-up to When Satan met 2020, seemed like a mixed bag of forward momentum and frustrating setbacks in the move to reform PBMs, you’re in good company. As we look over the year that was 2021, we’re encouraged by many of the high points…Healthcare6 min readHealthcare6 min read