The Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA) spoke out against the latest ad from the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) in a statement issued April 6.
“This latest campaign is an attempt to deflect blame for high drug prices onto the employers, unions and insurers that struggle to provide affordable coverage,” the statement released by the PCMA said.
The PCMA calls the new ad campaign a “losing strategy to demonize plans that apply savings from rebates and discounts to reduce overall premiums and co-pays.”
Additionally, the PCMA accuses the drug lobby of conflicting with its previous statements, where the lobby said that plans routinely “share” discounts and rebates to reduce premiums and deductibles.
PCMA is a national association that represents pharmacy benefit managers (PBM) who oversee and administer prescription drug plans for 266 million Americans. PhRMA in contrast, represents more than 50 companies and is one of the most power interest groups in the nation. The group began their latest major advertising campaign in late January.
The millions of U.S. citizens that work with PCMs include those who have commercial health plans, self-insured employer plans, union plans, Medicare Part D plans, Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, state government employee plans, Medicaid plans and others.
Alerts Sign-up