NACDS Statement on Second New York Times Article on “How Pharmacy Benefit Managers Distort the Health Care System at the Expense of Patients, Employers and Taxpayers”

National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) President and CEO Steven C. Anderson issued the following statement today upon The New York Times' publishing of an article titled "The Middlemen: The Powerful Companies Driving Local Drugstores Out of Business" - the second article in a series described by the paper as being about "how pharmacy benefit managers distort the health care system at the expense of patients, employers and taxpayers":

"This article is yet another important demonstration of the need for Congress to enact the bipartisan PBM reforms on which the hard work already has been done. This is exactly why more than two-thirds of voters agree that Congress should consider PBM reform to be 'must-pass legislation,' and that their member of Congress should do whatever it takes to ensure Congress enacts PBM reform in 2024."

Anderson continued, "This article also is why state governments should continue their aggressive path to legislate, implement, enforce, and oversee reforms, and why employers and unions should continue to dig deeper and ask the important questions about the harmful effects of PBM tactics on Americans and their pharmacies."

More information about PBM reform is available at the NACDS Access Agenda web page.