News
from the fight to #SaveIndiePharmacy
New York Times’ The Middlemen series
Nearly 400 independent pharmacies have closed in Minnesota since 1996. Why?
The financial woes impacting independent pharmacies have been in the making for decades. The core issue: inadequate reimbursements from pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs, which manage prescription drug benefits and claims between health insurance plans and pharmacies.
Minnesota legislation targets health insurers’ power to block medical care, medications
House bill would prevent redundant insurance red-tape for treatment of chronic diseases. The fate of prior authorization will be decided in the session’s final days.
It’s time for the Legislature to take steps to protect pharmacy care
An opinion piece by SPCD owner and pharmacist, John Hoeschen.
Why Drugs Are Disappearing From Your Insurance Coverage
Powerful companies are removing hundreds of medicines from insurance plans — and they’re spending millions to stop attempts at reform.
Commerce fines CVS Caremark $500,000 after 2022 case alleging violations of Pharmacy Benefit Manager Act
The Minnesota Department of Commerce announced it has levied a $500,000 penalty against the pharmacy benefit manager CVS Caremark after alleging that Caremark violated state law prohibiting a practice known as ‘patient steering.’
HMO profits from Minnesota state programs jump to $675.8M with enrollment surge
Enrollees used less care than expected, and a state program to cap profits was no longer in place, leading to an increase of about 181% in operating income.
Drugmakers including Purdue Pharma paid pharmacy benefit managers not to restrict painkiller prescriptions, a New York Times investigation found.