Illinois Attorney General pushing to ban overreach by pharmacy benefit managers

CHICAGO, Ill. (WCIA) — Attorney General Kwame Raoul joined 38 other attorneys general in an effort to stop pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) from running pharmacies.

On April 15, it was announced that the bipartisan coalition of attorneys general sent a letter to congressional leadership urging them to pass an act that would prohibit PBMs from operating and owning pharmacies. PBMs are third-party administrators of prescription drug programs for health plans.

According to Raoul, over the course of the last few decades, horizontal consolidation and vertical integration have transformed PBMs from effective administrative service providers into roles that dominate the market and ultimately control the industry.

“PBMs have opted to focus on driving up their own profits at the expense of patients,” Raoul said. “Their control of an outsized share of the market has led to patients having fewer choices and paying higher costs. I join my fellow attorneys general in calling on Congress to reign in PBMs, and I will continue to advocate for reforms that ensure prescription pricing is transparent and reduce the financial burden on patients.”

Additionally, the coalition’s letter is encouraging Congress to take action and protect consumers by passing a law that would ban PBMs or their parent companies from owning a pharmacy. The top six PBMs operate affiliated pharmacies, while five of the top six are also a part of parent conglomerates that operate insurance companies and health care clinics.

Through their ownerships of pharmacies, PBMs are contracting with and have power over the competition of their own pharmacies. They use their roles as intermediaries to use this power to hurt independent pharmacies. Raoul said they ultimately force these small businesses to accept contractual terms that are confusing, unfair and harmful among other things.

Attorneys general from the following states joined Raoul as a part of this coalition to send the letter:

• Alaska
• American Samoa
• Arizona
• Arkansas
• California
• Delaware
• District of Clumbia
• Hawaii
• Kentucky
• Louisiana
• Maine
• Maryland
• Massachusetts
• Michigan
• Minneosta
• Mississippi
• Missouri
• Nevada
• New Hampshire
• New Jersey
• New Mexico
• New York
• North Carolina
• North Dakota
• Ohio
• Oregon
• Pennsylvania
• Rhode Island
• South Dakota
• Tennessee
• Utah
• Vermont
• Virgin Islands
• Virginia
• Washington
• West Virginia
• Wisconsin
• Wyoming