Former governor says PBMs squeeze independent pharmacies, cites House Bill 2263
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Summary
During public comment, a former governor urged action against pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), saying their reimbursement practices are harming independent pharmacies and risking patient safety; a witness described wholesalers' pricing and cited an Eliquis example.
A former governor speaking during a public-comment period urged action against pharmacy benefit managers, saying their reimbursement practices are driving independent pharmacies toward closure and cited House Bill 2263 as an example of legislative response.
The former governor said the bill, "house bill 22 63," was "a first of its kind legislation that crack[ed] down on the PBMs," and said it "requires insurers and PBMs to pass along negotiated drug savings directly to the patients, helping lower cost helping to lower cost of West Virginia with commercial insurance." Commenter: the former governor.
The topic matters because independent pharmacies often provide the final in-person check between patients and medications; speakers said reduced reimbursements can disrupt that safety net and strain small businesses.
A witness who testified in the same public-comment sequence described how wholesalers and PBMs interact with independent pharmacies. "The wholesalers buy drugs at the list price, and then they sell to the pharmacies at just under the list price," the witness said, adding that on some drugs pharmacies must front most of the cost. Using the drug Eliquis as an example, the witness said a "$600 point price" can leave a pharmacy roughly "$570" out of pocket and that PBMs then under-reimburse pharmacies rather than covering that shortfall.
The witness also warned that under-reimbursement incentivizes PBMs to steer prescriptions to captive pharmacies, which can reduce local pharmacies' ability to counsel patients. "That last 5 feet between the patient and the pharmacist is some of the most important time any patient will ever spend," the witness said, adding that medication conflicts can cause "really bad things."
No formal action, vote or staff direction was recorded in the transcript excerpt; the remarks occurred as public comment and were not framed in the record as part of a board motion or ordinance consideration.
Speakers in the record raised the policy issue and provided specific examples and legislative context; the transcript does not show a follow-up motion or any official response recorded as an action in the provided segment.
