Our last meeting of Health TechNet was held on Friday, July 19 from noon to 2 pm at Nelson Mullins’ offices in Washington, D.C. The feature topic was whether and to what extent PBMs (Pharmacy Benefits Managers) play a role in reducing drug prices to consumers and payors generally by playing a middle-man, brokering role, and how they function to achieve the results they deliver. We also gave an update on drug pricing initiatives both in Congress and the Executive Branch, a subject which is becoming increasingly important as the elections draw closer.
This topic was originally suggested by our longtime member Dr. Nick van Terheyden, who introduced the topic and presented his and others’ reasons for raising questions about the effectiveness of PBMs. To even out the discussion, we also heard from Dan Hardin, Senior Vice-President & General Manager, Pharmacy Benefit Solutions, Change Healthcare. Dan plays a leading role in administering CHC’s PBM contracts with Medicaid programs in several states. We also heard from David Farber of King & Spalding, who has considerable experience with PBMs and is a leading expert on the subject.
2019-07-19 HealthTechNet PBM Introduction - Nick van Terheyden.pdf - 1.49 MB PDF