News
from the fight to #SaveIndiePharmacy
New York Times’ The Middlemen series
For some, fall Covid shots may come with copays — or no coverage at all
New Covid vaccine recommendations expected from the CDC could affect what insurers are willing to pay for.
Judge orders temporary hold on contract termination between Martella's & Express Scripts
According to the newly filed court injunction, Express Scripts is temporarily prohibited from terminating its network contract with Martella's
Community pharmacies are in crisis. Three things need to change
Walgreens’ chief pharmacy officer proposes fixes to a system that broke long ago
Letters: PBMs are no friend to veterans or rural residents
The idea that only PBM chains can serve patients is false and insulting to the small-business pharmacists working daily to keep Louisianans healthy.
Why Young Americans Dread Turning 26: Health Insurance Chaos
Young adults without jobs that provide insurance find that their options are limited and expensive. The problem is about to get worse.
What are pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) and why we need reform?
As PBMs increasingly act in their own self-interest without transparency or accountability, drug prices rise and patients face health risks from cost-prohibitive drug treatments.
'Gouging': US Health Insurance Giants Raked in Over $71 Billion in Profits Last Year
Meanwhile, 17% of Americans say they're using buy now, pay later services for medical or dental care.
The 2 Beliefs Driving Conservative Health Care Policy
Why Republicans think that insurance should be tied to employment — and that it’s not essential to have at all.
AMA backs the PBM Reform Act
“By prioritizing transparency, competitive markets, and enforceable protections for patients this legislation restores integrity to our prescription drug system.
UnitedHealthcare dropping some Medicare Advantage plans, affecting 600,000
Stock fell 7% Tuesday as Eden Prairie-based health care giant’s new earnings projections are short of expectations.
Lina Khan: A Secret to Zohran Mamdani’s Success
Former FTC Chairwoman and pharmacy advocate Lena Khan discusses the politics of supporting America’s small businesses, including discussing the FTC’s work under her leadership to protect independent pharmacies.
DHS: 140,000 Minnesotans could lose health insurance under federal tax cut and spending package
The state released an updated projection of the costs of the Republican-passed bill.
EU-US trade deal could add up to $19 billion in pharma industry costs, analysts say
The European Union's trade deal with the United States could cost the pharmaceutical industry between $13 billion and $19 billion as branded medicines become subject to a tariff of 15%, analysts said on Monday.
The only state without a Walgreens pharmacy
Many independent pharmacies are in turmoil throughout the US. But a unique law has made North Dakota a haven for mom-and-pop operators.
Why more local pharmacies are struggling to stay in business
Drugstores across the United States continue to close, and these businesses point to pharmacy benefit managers as a culprit — proposed legislation in Wisconsin aims to limit their scope.
Retired professor concerned about recent pharmacist suicides in Lancaster
Dan Hussar is a retired professor at the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy who now writes a newsletter, "The Pharmacist Activist."
Federal judge will decide whether to block Arkansas’ new pharmacy benefit manager regulations
A federal judge said Wednesday that he will decide “fairly soon” whether to block Arkansas’ first-in-the-nation law regulating pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs).
Pharmacy Access Determined by Drive Time Underestimates Inequality
Measuring pharmacy access by drive time underestimated inequities in pharmacy access as well as the prominence of pharmacy deserts in the US, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Pharmacists Association (JAPhA)
Locally-owned pharmacy chain faces 'network termination' by Express Scripts
According to a statement from Martella's Pharmacies, the termination from the Express Scripts (ESI) network is reportedly scheduled to take effect on August 18th.
Judge blocks parts of Iowa's pharmacy benefit manager law. What it means for prescriptions
Iowa lawmakers passed the law, Senate File 383, with the aim of halting further pharmacy closures in Iowa by reining in pharmacy benefit managers, known as PBMs, that operate in the middle between drug manufacturers and insurance providers.
Drugmakers including Purdue Pharma paid pharmacy benefit managers not to restrict painkiller prescriptions, a New York Times investigation found.