ICYMI: CEI Warns Against Government Interference In the Pharmacy Industry Limiting Consumer Choice

PCMA cited CEI’s expert on Pharmacy Industry

In case you missed it, a recent study from the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) warns that government intervention in the pharmacy marketplace risks increasing costs, limiting consumer choice, and jeopardizing consumer access to medications. Economist Jeremy Nighohossian writes:

“Recently, government regulators have expressed concern with this rapid and organic progression. Some policymakers have decided it is necessary to interfere in the market and try to direct it to predetermined outcomes… These proposals are misguided and ill-conceived. Policymakers should reject them and let consumers drive the decisions.”

A central focus of these policy debates is whether pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) can own and operate pharmacies, with some policymakers looking to implement misguided government mandates that would force the closure of these pharmacies and pharmacy services. Nighohossian concludes:

“Vertically integrated firms offer a variety of benefits to firms and consumers. Research has shown that in the preponderance of cases, the efficiencies are passed down to consumers in the form of lower prices or better products and services.

When it comes to misguided government mandates in the pharmacy market, Nighohossian is explicit about the risks to consumers:

“Legislation that forecloses any of these options will impose more harm than benefit… There is plentiful evidence that consumers benefit from having these pharmacies as an option…Removing mail-order pharmacies from the market would also lead to decreased medicine adherence, shorter prescriptions, higher prices, and more effort from everyone who currently uses them.”

Read more at PCMA