Letter to the Editor: Medicare Part D increases savings, access for seniors

In the “good old days” described by a pharmacist in the article, seniors – especially seniors without drug coverage – were paying some of the highest costs of all for their prescription drugs. In direct contrast, PBMs, which administer the new drug bene?t, have achieved higher-than-expected savings of 29 percent during 2006 and are on track to save Medicare and its bene?ciaries $469 billion between 2006 and 2015, according to a new analysis from PricewaterhouseCoopers.

PBMs also treat drugstores fairly and pay their bills on time. PBMs have pledged to continue paying pharmacists for Medicare claims within 30 days, a standard consistent with Medicare Parts A & B, 43 states and the federal employees’ health plan. In addition, a survey conducted last year by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services found that 18 of the top 20 Medicare prescription drug plans were paying pharmacy claims on a twice-a-month billing cycle of 15 days or less. CMS also stated that, “outside of Medicare, payment within 30 days is largely the industry standard, indicating that the payment timelines in Medicare are comparable to or better than those that exist elsewhere in the health insurance industry.”

All evidence demonstrates that the Medicare prescription drug bene?t has increased savings and access to prescription drugs for seniors. PBMs are proud to play an important role in this successful program.

—Mark Merritt,, President, Pharmaceutical Care Management Association, Washington, D.C.[[In-content Ad]]