Sky-high drug prices and healthcare costs have quickly turned into a voter issue in Washington, D.C., with politicians promising to go after pharmaceutical companies to lower prices. Pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs)—the industry middlemen that negotiate drug prices—are passing on nearly all their savings to insurance providers, according to Terry Wilcox, co-founder and executive director of advocacy organization Patients Rising. His op-ed for The Hill placed the blame of high costs squarely on insurers.

CVS Health reported it passed on 98 percent of rebates it receives from drug makers to insurers in 2018 disclosures, while Express Scripts passes on 95 percent of rebates to health plan clients and customers. These savings help subsidize premium costs for health plan members, but they also could be bolstering profits for insurers, according to Wilcox.

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