Bipartisan Congressional scrutiny has shone a harsh spotlight on the many tactics used by pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) and Big Pharma that contribute to the sky high costs of prescription drugs in the U.S. Last year, the nation spent $723 billion in prescription drugs alone — the rest of the world combined paid nearly the same amount. Now, the FTC has sued the Big 3 PBMs for their practices tied to insulin. Some CEOs of pharma companies have been hauled to Congress to provide testimony about why drugs cost so much.
However, it would be inaccurate to think that only these two entities drive up drug costs domestically. Others do too. As Paul Markovich, CEO of Blue Shield of California, explained in an event in spring, both drug distributors and hospitals are also to blame. See these videos below.
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