On May 17, pharmacist, patients, caregivers, and physicians are expected to protest patient steering at the headquarters of Cigna's Express Scripts (ESI) in St. Louis—urged on by Loretta Boesing, founder of Unite for Safe Medications. Patient steering, protest organizers say, might be a vital business strategy for vertically integrated PBMs, but it ultimately offers no benefits to patients who get lost in the shuffle when their prescriptions are transferred to other pharmacies—often without their knowledge. Patient steering, say most community pharmacists, also equates to lost business for them, providing yet another front in the war of attrition waged by PBMs against independent businesses. NCPA has continued to fight back on behalf of its members in recent years. Just this month, NCPA pushed ESI to revise contract terms to align with its obligation to offer “reasonable and relevant” terms and conditions for participation in a Medicare Part D pharmacy network, and to revise its “bonus pool fee” to align with federal policy, and in January, NCPA applauded a major class action lawsuit alleging the ESI colluded with other PBMs to rig reimbursement rates. Stay tuned to qAM as we report on new pressures against ESI and its deleterious practices.
NCPA
