ICYMI: Ryan Costello Urges Congress To Pass Patent Abuse Legislation Over Misguided Proposals Targeting PBMs

In case you missed it, Ryan Costello, former U.S. Representative (R-PA-06), urged Members of Congress to focus on solutions to stop Big Pharma's patent abuse in a recent RealClearHealthop-ed. Costello also urges lawmakers to oppose misguided policies targeting pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) that leverage free market forces in the prescription drug supply chain to drive down costs.

Costello writes:

"Mid-summer of an election year marks the starting gun for a familiar marathon of jockeying in Washington. Congress punts funding to keep existing policies, some critical, to the lame duck session and lawmakers position their favored proposals to quietly slip into must-pass legislation without thorough vetting.

"That makes summer a good time to shine a bright light on misguided ideas - before they find their way into year-end legislation.

"Among these bad ideas are proposals that come directly out of the Big Pharma wish list to increase the pricing power of drug companies and pharmaceutical industry profits by undermining the market-based, cost-saving role of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs)."

Costello highlights why Big Pharma is behind policies designed to undermine PBMs:

"Big Pharma is trying to capitalize on concerns around the affordability of prescription drugs to bait and switch Congress into passing legislation that would directly boost revenue for drug companies, increase their power over drug prices and increase costs for American patients, taxpayers, and employers.

"The best time to pass a disastrous $32 billion Big Pharma bailout paid for by the American people? During the chaos of a post-election lame duck."

The former lawmaker calls on Congress to focus on legislation that would actually secure savings for taxpayers and lower drug prices by cracking down on Big Pharma's anti-competitive practices:

"Instead, Republicans should rally around a sound approach to funding critical policies later this year that would put American patients, businesses, and taxpayers first - by actually lowering costs for consumers and reducing the deficit.

"Pharmaceutical patent abuse, common among Big Pharma companies, distorts the prescription drug market and drives up costs…

"The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) recently updated its analysis of one of the Senate Judiciary solutions to improve competition by cracking down on Big Pharma's patent abuse, The Affordable Prescriptions for Patients Act of 2023 (S.150), and the projected savings jumped from $1.109 billion to $3.019 billion.

"In total, CBO's projected savings on the Senate Judiciary package of bipartisan bills that address Big Pharma's patent abuse is now in the neighborhood of $6 billion."

While proposals undermining PBMs would increase health care costs and hand Big Pharma a multi-billion dollar financial windfall, policies that crack down on drug companies' patent thickets would save the federal government and patients, families, and taxpayers billions.

Read the full op-ed HERE.

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PCMA is the national association representing America's pharmacy benefit companies. Pharmacy benefit companies are working every day to secure savings, enable better health outcomes, and support access to quality prescription drug coverage for more than 275 million patients.

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