Military families shouldn’t be collateral damage in PBM reform

Independent Newsmedia/Charlene Bisson

OPINION — America asks a great deal of those who wear the uniform and their families. In return, the country makes a promise: military families will have dependable access to healthcare, and that promise is called Tricare.

I recently saw that some states like Tennessee passed laws that might have devastating effects on Tricare for veterans in those areas. I don’t want that to happen in Arizona. 

The question is not whether prescription drugs cost too much. They do. The question is whether Arizona should address those costs by adopting policies that make it harder for community pharmacies to stay in business and harder for military families to get medicine they may need. 
Federal rules and contracts determine where I can fill prescriptions. If a local pharmacy is forced to close, cut services or leave a network, I cannot simply shop around. My family has to wait for the system to catch up. That is what gets lost when healthcare reform is discussed as though every patient has endless choices when they do not. 

This is why Arizona lawmakers should think twice before advancing Pharmacy Benefit Manager — PBM — reform that could undermine the pharmacies that Tricare families rely on. A policy can sound sensible — lower reimbursement, more aggressive cost controls, a new mandate framed as “competition” — and yet create serious problems for veterans and their families. 

There is a legitimate case for reforming prescription-drug pricing. Americans need relief but reform should not come at the expense of military families depending on Tricare.

My family is proud of our service to this country, and we would do it again. All we ask is that the country keep its promise in return.

Thomas Cavanagh served just under nine years in the U.S. Army, including an overseas deployment, and was medically retired at the rank of staff sergeant. He and his family are TRICARE beneficiaries. Please submit comments at yourvalley.net/letters or email them to AzOpinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines.