Calling on Congress to pass a prescription for prescription drug reform | Opinion

I’m writing from rural Kansas, where the sunsets are wide and the community’s spirit is strong.

However, these past few years there is a shadow that has been cast over our towns, and it is not from the beautiful prairies we are proud to call home.

It is the dark cloud of rising prescription medication costs and the disappearing act of our independent pharmacies.

You see, there is a big piece of this puzzle that many folks are not talking about, and that is the role of pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs.

These companies are the middlemen of the prescription drug world, and they have got their fingers in almost every pie.

They decide the price tags at the pharmacy and which pharmacies are covered on insurance plans.

And they dictate which medicines folks’ insurance will cover.

Now, I am no expert in economics, but when just three companies control 80% of the entire market, that can not be a good sign for competition, or for keeping prices fair for consumers like us.

It is not just the control they have that is troubling — it is the lack of oversight.

These PBMs operate with a freedom that is unheard of in other industries.

They use vertical integration, which is a fancy term for owning different stages of the same supply chain, to keep their grip tight and the rest of us at their mercy.

As a result, we are seeing our local pharmacies shut their doors one by one because they cannot compete with the PBMs’ own pharmacies.

It’s a sad day when you have to drive an hour or more to find the nearest place to fill a prescription.

Thankfully, there is a flicker of hope on the horizon as Congress steps up with new legislation that aims to break the link between the profits of PBMs and the soaring price of drugs.

This legislation is not just a piece of paper — it is a lifeline for folks who depend on their medications to live a normal life, and it is a lifeline for independent pharmacists pursuing the American dream of owning their own business.

The problem is, these PBMs play a clever game. They own pharmacies and insurance plans, so they get to set high prices and then turn around and profit from them at both ends.

They are the pitcher and the batter in a game that only they can win.

That is not just unfair — it is downright wrong.

It is taking hard-earned money from Kansans who toil through tornadoes and droughts, who support our communities, and all we expect is a square deal in return.

Now, there are some bills in Congress, S. 1542 in the Senate and H.R. 6283 in the House, that are designed to correct these wrongs.

These bills aim to replace the twisted incentive structure that allows PBMs to inflate drug prices with a system that rewards them for finding the best deal for patients.

It’s a system that would put our interests first, not the profits of some far-off company.

I have got to put my hope in our representative, Ron Estes, to step up and take a leadership role in making sure these bills do not just sit on a shelf gathering dust.

We need action, and we need it this year.

Our health and financial well-being are on the line.

It is high time for Congress to put its constituents first, and to make healthcare costs transparent and affordable.

Passing these bills would mark a victory for Kansans and for all Americans who have been held captive by the hidden and complicated maneuvers of PBMs.

We are counting on our legislators to cut through the tangle and deliver us from the grip of these corporate giants.

Ben Jones lives in Pratt and is a former member of the Kansas State Board of Education.