1. United States
2. La.
3. Letter

I strongly urge support for the bipartisan Patients Before Monopolies (PBM) Act introduced by Representatives Diana Harshbarger and Jake Auchincloss. This crucial legislation aims to eliminate the monopolistic control held by large healthcare conglomerates that own both pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) and pharmacies. This inherent conflict of interest has enabled these companies to enrich themselves at the expense of patients, independent pharmacies, and fair competition. The proposed act rightly prohibits the same parent company from owning both a PBM and a pharmacy business. It requires divestiture of pharmacy businesses by companies violating this rule within three years. Enforcement provisions allow relevant federal agencies and state attorneys general to order divestitures and disgorgement of ill-gotten revenues for redistribution to harmed communities. For too long, the monopolistic power of vertically integrated PBMs has driven up drug costs, limited patient choice, forced pharmacy closures, and tilted the playing field against independent pharmacies. This legislation strikes at the root of these anti-competitive practices by eliminating the glaring conflicts of interest. Restoring fairness, competition and affordability in the pharmaceutical delivery chain is crucial for patient access to quality care. I strongly urge your support for this commonsense, bipartisan reform that puts patients before profits. The vertical integration of PBMs and pharmacies under the same corporate umbrella has gone unchecked for far too long at grave cost to our healthcare system.