As an independent pharmacist in Monroe, I see every day how patients struggle to access the medications they need. But the biggest barriers often aren’t supply or cost—it’s bureaucracy, and it’s Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs).
PBMs dictate what drugs are covered, how much patients pay, and how much pharmacies are reimbursed. They steer patients away from local pharmacies like mine and toward their own affiliated outlets. It’s anti-competitive, and it hurts rural and small-town access.
At the same time, Washington is considering price-setting policies like the “Most Favored Nation” rule that would peg U.S. drug prices to those in foreign countries. That may seem like a shortcut to savings, but it could reduce access to new treatments and hurt small pharmacies already struggling with tight margins and unfair reimbursement.
If Congress really wants to help patients and lower drug prices, they should start by bringing transparency to the PBM system and protecting community pharmacies that serve as frontline healthcare providers.
I urge Senator Cassidy, Speaker Johnson, Representative Scalise, and Representative Letlow to oppose short-sighted price control policies and focus on reforming the real middlemen—PBMs.
Katherine Willard, Monroe, LA
