Senators Pull Few Punches at PBM Execs During Insulin-Cost Hearing

During a May 10 hearing held by a key Senate committee — one day before that same committee advanced a PBM reform bill — politicians laid blame at the feet of both PBMs and drugmakers for the fact that high out-of-pocket costs for insulin and other medications have kept many Americans from accessing lifesaving therapies. But it was PBMs that received the sharpest criticism — including some memorable comments from Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.).

“I kind of feel like hell’s freezing over because Chairman [Bernie] Sanders and I actually agree on something, and it’s that something needs to be done with PBMs,” Mullin said during the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee hearing titled “The Need to Make Insulin Affordable for All Americans.”

© 2024 MMIT
Leslie Small

Leslie Small

Leslie has been reporting and editing in various journalism roles for nearly a decade. Most recently, she was the senior editor of FierceHealthPayer, an e-newsletter covering the health insurance industry. A graduate of Penn State University, she previously served in editing roles at newspapers in Pennsylvania, Virginia and Colorado.

Related Posts

lilly-corporate-hq
March 9

Eli Lilly Cuts Out-of-Pocket Insulin Costs, But Net Impact May Vary

READ MORE
pills-in-dollar-sign
May 4

AHIP, PhRMA Try to Control Narrative as Heat on PBMs Intensifies

Read More
insulin-bottles
March 23

California Will Join Insulin Fray With CivicaRx White Label Partnership

READ MORE

GAIN THERAPEUTIC AREA-SPECIFIC INTEL TO DRIVE ACCESS FOR YOUR BRAND

Sign up for publications to get unmatched business intelligence delivered to your inbox.

subscribe today