California pharmacists, whose businesses are struggling due to prescription drug billing fees increasing by up to 25 percent starting this year, traveled to Sacramento on April 2 to protest and demand an audit of billing agencies.
The pharmacists held a press conference in front of the Capitol to call for the swift passage of a bill (SB 966) addressing such concerns that is currently pending in the Assembly.
Organized by the California Pharmacists Association (CPhA), the Capitol visit was attended by more than 100 pharmacists from across California, including 20 members of the California Korean American Pharmacists Association (CKAPhA). Korean-American pharmacists have been closed for the past two days in protest of the fee hike.
Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), sponsor of SB 966, and Assembly members Chris Wood (D), Budget Director at Speaker of the State Assembly, and Assemblyman James Gallagher (R) were also present at the press conference.
“There are no audits of the PBMs (pharmacy benefit managers) that manage the prescription drug claims process, so we can’t see how they spend the fees they collect from pharmacies,” said Wiener. “To ensure that consumers aren’t penalized, the state must step in and audit them.”
After the press conference, the pharmacists in small groups of three or four visited the offices of their state senators and representatives to explain the reality of the fees currently charged to pharmacies and the need to pass the bill.
“There were about 10 pharmacists from not only the Korean-American community but also the Indian and Vietnamese communities,” said Changho Yoo, chairman of the board of CKAPhA. “Most lawmakers we met with today were completely unaware of the situation. Many of them said they would help pass the bill.”
“The PBMs have now grown to control the hospitals, pharmacies, and even the types of medications patients take, which is disadvantageous for consumers as well. We will continue to lobby for passage of this legislation.”
PBMs, created in the 1960s to help pharmacies process prescription drug claims, were initially run small, but since 2005, through mergers and consolidation, they have grown in size and wield a powerful influence over drug price negotiations.
According to the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA), 307 independent pharmacies have closed across the U.S. in the past year after PBMs increased their fees by 25-30 percent. In addition, 32 percent of independent pharmacy owners plan to close their businesses by the end of this year.
According to CKAPhA, six of its member pharmacies closed last year alone due to business difficulties. Most of them chose to close because they could not afford to operate in the red due to fees of up to 25 percent.
BY NICOLE CHANG, HOONSIK WOO [chang.nicole@koreadaily.com]
