CCAGW Urges Mississippi Legislators to Oppose House Bill 1265 | Council For Citizens Against Government Waste

CCAGW Urges Mississippi Legislators to Oppose House Bill 1265

State Action

April 18, 2024

Mississippi House of Representatives
Mississippi Capitol
400 High Street
Jackson, Mississippi 39201

Dear Representative,

On behalf of the 10,753 members and supporters of the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW) in Mississippi, I urge you to oppose HB1265.  This legislation would create unnecessary regulatory barriers that will undermine the effectiveness of pharmaceutical benefit managers (PBMs) in Mississippi and increase prescription drug costs for patients.

PBMs save money for patients by negotiating lower prices on behalf of large groups.  More than 275 million Americans who obtain health coverage from their employers, unions, state government plans, and other sponsors rely on PBMs to administer their prescription drug plans.  PBMs use various tools like rebates, pharmacy networks, drug utilization review, formularies, specialty pharmacies, mail-order, and audits to drive down drug costs, improve quality, increase patient medication adherence, and prevent fraud. 

PBMs provide savings for patients by allowing a specialty pharmacy to ship a drug for a given patient offering home delivery of prescriptions at a lower cost.  Restricting this cost-saving practice takes choices away from patients and limit limits how employers and other plan sponsors can compensate their PBMs for their services.  This bill limits negotiations on behalf of patients and will lead to less competition in the healthcare marketplace, resulting in higher prices. 

For the above reasons, I urge you to oppose HB1265, which would insert the government further into the healthcare system and result in higher costs and fewer choices for patients in Mississippi.

Sincerely,
Tom Schatz
President, CCAGW