ICYMI: Rep. Doug Collins (R-GA) led a 60 minute rant against pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) in the U.S. House of Representatives. Joining him were congressmen Brian Babin (R-TX), Buddy Carter (R-GA), John J. Duncan, Jr. (R-TN), Dave Loebsack (D-IA), and Austin Scott (R-GA). It’s an enlightening tour through the usual grievances and conspiracy theories about PBMs.
Regular readers know that I have called out PBMs for the potentially warped incentives embedded in rebate practices and the gross-to-net bubble. See, for example, this article and this one.
But the overheated rhetoric on the House floor was truly jaw dropping. Example: Rep. Collins kicked things off in style by claiming that PBMs engage in “monopolistic, terrorist kind of ways that they are dealing with our community pharmacies and independent pharmacies.”
Terrorists? Really?!? I wonder how ISIS feels about this comparison.
Video, transcript, and additional observations below. Enjoy!
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