Richard Kirby

Alabama residents: Call your legislators and urge them to pass #PBMReform in the state! affordablemedsal.com

Medicare Drug Price Negotiations Expose Community Pharmacies to Financial Risk A survey conducted by 3 Axis Advisors revealed potential impacts of the Inflation Reduction Act’s Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program.

Medicare drug price negotiations are "structured in a way that will force many independent pharmacies out of the Medicare Part D program. Drug costs may come down, but there will be a shortage of pharmacies to dispense medicine.”

Pressure Mounts for PBM Reform Amid Rising Drug Costs Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) have long operated in the shadows of the U.S. healthcare system, wielding significant influence over drug pricing and access. Recent developments, including federal in...

“We should all be very concerned about the activities of #PBM middlemen... These are the people who are supposedly getting discounts for us on drug prices but then actually pocket those discounts.”

Reform PBMs and Deliver Lower-Cost Drugs for Patients | Opinion Congress must build on the reforms drafted in 2024 that require PBM transparency.

#PBMs have blocked—and continue to block—this promise of biosimilars because they prioritize their own profits over the well-being of patients.

Deserted: 65K San Franciscans to be left without a local pharmacy Residents of the Bayview and Ingleside won't have a pharmacy in their neighborhoods after 12 Walgreens stores close in February.

“We know #PBMs are crushing pharmacies, forcing people to use mail-order prescriptions and other practices around reimbursements.”
sfstandard.com/2025/01/23/s...

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FTC Releases Second Interim Staff Report on Prescription Drug Middlemen The Federal Trade Commission today published a second interim staff report on the prescription drug middleman industry, which focuses on pharmacy benefit managers’ (PBMs) influence over specialty g

The Big 3 #PBMs’ affiliated pharmacies generated over $7.3 billion of dispensing revenue in excess of their estimated acquisition cost, as measured by the NADAC, on specialty generic drugs over the study period.

YouTube video by Patient Protector Modern Medical Mafia Sizzle Short Film

Excited for today's pre-release event of the Modern Medical Maifa docu-series! Learn more at www.modernmedicalmafia.com
www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMMn...

Employers take fights with Big Pharma and PBMs over insulin price-gouging charges to one federal court A lawyer for the employers predicts that discovery will show that collusion between drugmakers and PBMs had a significant impact on his clients' costs.

The biggest reason U.S. drug prices far exceed international peers: our addiction to ‘discounts’

“For PBMs paid based on discounts negotiated, a high retail price with big discounts is better than a low retail price with no discounts.”

My wife got me the "Deck of Many Things" for Xmas, I'm reading Tolkien's "Unfinished Tales," and we wrapped up the LOTR extended version marathon last weekend... I'm right there with you.

That Lost Boys soundtrack is a dandy. I think I have my original vinyl somewhere.

Meaningful #PBM reform at the federal level is SO CLOSE to becoming a reality! Contact your representatives in Congress TODAY and urge them to include PBM reform in the year-end financial package!

Unsure of who your representatives are? Find them here: ow.ly/8lqg50UtxCM

I'm at the age where learning a new platform/technology is a special kind of hell.

Now if you will excuse me, I'm off to yell at some kids to get off my lawn.

Drugmakers Paid PBMs Not to Restrict Opioid Prescriptions Drugmakers including Purdue Pharma paid pharmacy benefit managers not to restrict painkiller prescriptions, a New York Times investigation found.

So, not only do the Big 3 #PBMs increase prescription prices for patients and taxpayers, they took rebates (you can call them "kickbacks") and helped worsen the opioid crisis.
www.nytimes.com/2024/12/17/b...

Pharmacy benefit managers: What journalists need to know Pharmacy benefit managers, created to negotiate better deals for consumers on medicines, instead have sometimes driven up drug prices.

Congress is currently considering adding partial #PBM reform to its end-of-year financial package. This is a great explainer on what PBMs are and what they do, not only for journalists but for anyone interested in the subject.
journalistsresource.org/home/pharmac...

A thank you message to members of Congress who introduced the Patients Before Monopolies Act overlaid on a blue background with an image of the U.S. Capitol building. The message reads: "APCI is proud to offer its wholehearted support to the Patients Before Monopolies (PBM) Act, and wants to thank Sen. Hawley, Sen. Warren, Rep. Harshbarger, and Rep. Auchnicloss for their work on this groundbreaking bill. Simply put, PBMs should not be in the pharmacy business, and we look forward to working with Congress in the coming year to enact this legislation."

#PBMs shouldn't own pharmacies. Period.
Read about the Patients Before Monopolies (PBM) Act here: ow.ly/fsc050Uqeou

I'll heartily endorse that comment. Antonio and his crew are second to none when it comes to exposing how the Big 3 #PBMs abuse America's prescription drug system!

Tired: Spotify Wrapped

Wired: Lawmakers' 2024 Greatest Hits on #PBM Reform

Check it out here: bit.ly/pbm-greatest...

Wonky as hell and chock-full of numbers, but if you want to learn exactly how broken America's prescription drug system is, follow @aciaccia.bsky.social, 46 Brooklyn, and 3 Axis Advisors.

Thank you.

Wrote a paper on "Fritz the Cat" for a Cinema and Society class back in the day. Somehow got an A on it.

No Ralph Bakshi? Tsk.

Living Colour put on a fantastic show. Saw them at an MTV event in Auburn back in the day with The Sugarcubes and The Godfathers.

Optimist: The cup is half full

Pessimist: The cup is half empty

Pharmacist: This refill is too early, your insurance denied the claim.

Why yes, I am a noob here.

I thought you were recommending that I pin it, which was an excellent idea. Thanks!

Done. Thanks!

The Opaque Industry Secretly Inflating Prices for Prescription Drugs (Gift Article) Pharmacy benefit managers are driving up drug costs for millions of people, employers and the government.

I post a lot about pharmacy benefit managers, multi-billion-dollar middlemen in the U.S. Rx drug chain that are a major reason prescription drugs cost so much in America.

Here's a great explainer on how PBMs artificially inflate the cost of prescriptions:

www.nytimes.com/2024/06/21/b...

People of Bluesky. Let's get to know each other better. What is your all-time favorite TV show? Quote share your answer in gif form.

Reviewing some #pharmacy posts on here today and after reading them, I thought I would add this PSA:

Locally-owned independent pharmacy > any of the chains.

Even if they can't accept your insurance, ask for a cash price. It may well be lower than your copay.

This is a great video, because it includes an explainer on pharmacy benefit managers, and a discussion of a fix to what ails the US prescription drug system - the Pharmacists Fight Back Act. Worth a watch!