Pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs are often at the center of policy debates, yet their role in the prescription drug supply chain is frequently misunderstood. While critics often cast PBMs as the source of rising drug costs, they in fact play an important role in negotiating prices, managing formularies, and creating competitive pressure that can help lower costs and expand options for patients.
In CEI’s report, A Free Market is the Best Medicine: Why government should not interfere with the rapid changes in the pharmacy industry, Senior Fellow Jeremy Nighohossian explains how consumers are benefiting from innovations in the pharmacy supply market that are expanding access to medications, including online, mail-order, and combined pharmacy and telehealth models. He warns policymakers that intrusive regulations on PBMs would limit innovation and restrict patient options. Rather than imposing new government mandates, policymakers should allow competition and consumer demand to shape the future of the industry.
Please join CEI for a virtual briefing on PBMs, featuring remarks from Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) and study author Dr. Jeremy Nighohossian, moderated by CEI Senior Economist Ryan Young.
When: 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm ET
Tuesday, March 24, 2026
Questions: [email protected] or 202.331.2764
Sen. Rand Paul has represented Kentucky in the U.S. Senate since 2011 and is a leading advocate for limited government and individual liberty. He currently serves as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, where he focuses on oversight and government accountability. Before entering politics, he practiced as an ophthalmologist in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
Jeremy Nighohossian is a senior fellow and economist at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, focusing on health care policy. Before joining CEI, he worked at the Center for Healthcare Economics and Policy at FTI Consulting, where he specialized in antitrust and disputes in healthcare, working on several projects with Compass Lexecon. He holds a Ph.D. in economics from Texas A&M University and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Illinois
Ryan Young is a senior economist and director of publications at the Competitive Enterprise Institute. He specializes in trade, regulation, monetary policy, and antitrust policy, and edited Adam Smith’s Guide to Life, Loveliness, and the Modern Economy. His writing has appeared in USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, and Politico, and he has appeared on NPR, the BBC, and C-SPAN’s Washington Journal. He has an M.A. in economics from George Mason University and is a member of the Mont Pelerin Society.