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ATAP Press Release: ATAP Amicus Brief Advocates for State Regulation of PBM Industry

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 2, 2020

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Dan Rene of kglobal 202-329-8357 or daniel.rene@kglobal.com

ATAP AMICUS BRIEF ADVOCATES FOR STATE REGULATION OF PBM INDUSTRY

Frustration Over Higher Prices & Reduced Patient Access Makes Way to Supreme Court

[Washington, DC] [March 2, 2020] – Today the Alliance for Transparent and Affordable Prescriptions (ATAP), a coalition of 27 patient and provider groups concerned about the role Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) play in the rising cost of drugs and reduced patient access to affordable treatment, filed an Amicus Brief with the United States Supreme Court in an effort to support the rights of states to regulate the PBM industry.

ATAP’s Amicus Brief argues that PBMs “have distorted the healthcare market and adopted abusive practices with serious consequences (both economic and health-related) for the patients these systems are ultimately designed to serve. Regulation is desperately needed to correct these destructive practices and restore cost savings and patient access to medical treatment.”

The brief, prepared by Daniel Geyser of Geyser PC on behalf of the ATAP member organizations may be found HERE.

“The relationship that really matters is the doctor-patient relationship,” stated Dr. Robert Levin, ATAP’s President. “We see first-hand how the PBM industry drives up costs and interferes with medical care. Doctors, patients, and legislators are saying ‘enough is enough’ and are fighting back. We appreciate the opportunity to argue on behalf of patients and our ability to practice medicine as the Supreme Court weighs in on regulating this rogue industry.”

The case, Rutledge v. the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association, will be heard by the Supreme Court on April 27, 2020. The case began after the PBM lobby challenged a 2015 Arkansas law preventing PBMs from reimbursing pharmacies less than what these pharmacies pay to fill the prescriptions.

“The profit motivations from the PBM industry impact more than pharmacies,” Dr. Levin continued. “ATAP members are on the front lines of medical care. We see the struggles and confusion that patients are put through by this completely unnecessary middleman industry – they deserve better – they deserve the truth – not a dangerous profit motivated policy.”

ATAP has been an active advocate for patients in a variety of federal and state battles to amplify the voices of patients and physicians.

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For more information, or to schedule an interview with an ATAP spokesperson please contact Dan Rene at 202-329-8357.

Please visit http://www.atapadvocates.com

Dan Rene