Healthcare Is a Human Right. Until Then, Take Down the PBMs

The growing power of healthcare giants like UnitedHealth Group, CVS Health, and Cigna should concern every American. These corporations have become some of the largest companies in the country by buying up insurance companies, physician practices, pharmacies, and pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), giving them unprecedented control over nearly every part of our healthcare system. States such as Arkansas and Tennessee have already begun pushing back against this level of corporate consolidation because they recognize the danger of allowing the same companies to control both prescription drug benefits and the pharmacies that fill those prescriptions. Healthcare should be a public right, not a privilege determined by a person’s income or employment. I strongly believe our nation should move toward a publicly administered healthcare system that puts patients ahead of profits. Until we have the political will to make that happen, however, we must confront one of the most damaging features of our current system: pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs). PBMs do not provide medical care, diagnose illnesses, or improve patient outcomes. They function as unnecessary middlemen that drive up prescription drug costs, restrict patient access to medications, and generate billions of dollars in profits while families struggle to afford life-saving treatments. The time for piecemeal reforms has passed. I urge you to support meaningful federal action to eliminate abusive PBM practices, break up anti-competitive healthcare conglomerates, and restore competition throughout our healthcare system. No corporation should be allowed to control insurance, prescription drug benefits, physician networks, and pharmacies under the same corporate umbrella. Americans deserve a healthcare system that puts people before profits. Whether through the long-term goal of a universal public healthcare system or through immediate reforms that dismantle monopolistic practices and remove predatory middlemen, Congress has both the authority and the responsibility to act.