Letter to the Editor: DeSantis deserves praise

This letter originally ran in the Sun Sentinel. 

Gov. Ron DeSantis has unveiled a legislative proposal to protect patients and small businesses from the predatory behavior of pharmacy benefit managers, known as PBMs. These are the middlemen in the drug supply chain that squeeze consumers, pharmacies, providers and employers to make big profits, all under the cover of darkness. The governor’s actions to address the anticompetitive practices of PBMs while creating meaningful oversight and transparency should be applauded.

The pharmaceutical middlemen have gotten away with gaming the healthcare system for far too long. Leveraging their role as gatekeepers between drug makers and the marketplace, PBMs are responsible for inflating medicine prices by billions of dollars a year. As a result, patients struggle to afford lifesaving medications, and pharmacies and providers are left to grapple with unfair and opaque reimbursement practices that compromise their ability to support healthy communities.

It’s time lawmakers pull back the curtain on the covert drug supply chain middlemen. DeSantis’ announcement is a step in the right direction. Hopefully, federal lawmakers in Washington also pursue efforts to rein in PBMs.