Reporter: Jan Griffey
A Natchez pharmacist is applauding legislation being considered by the Mississippi House and Senate that would help regulate the actions of pharmacy benefit managers.
Larry McManus, who runs the pharmacy operation at Ernst Pharmacy in Natchez, said pharmacy benefit managers, known as PBMs in that industry, are a relatively new phenomenon and serve as a price negotiator for insurance companies.
“PBMs are kind of like an intermediary. They won’t pay for drugs a lot of times or will pay less than it costs for us to purchase the drugs,” McManus said.
He said PBMs’ negotiating practices hit small, independent pharmacies the most because they lack the economies of scale to negotiate that large, chain pharmacies do. “The reimbursement rates to pharmacies for drugs have gotten really bad,” he said. “It’s sad to think that they (insurance companies) make billions of dollars and on the bottom end of it, people can’t get the medication they need because these companies won’t pay the pharmacist what it costs the pharmacy to buy the medication.”
Ernst is the only independent pharmacy operating in Adams County.
McManus said in many instances, the rate the PBMs are willing to pay for drugs isn’t enough to cover the cost of the bottle the drug will be dispensed in.... CONTINUE READING
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