Navarro: Misguided proposals put Arizonans’ health care at risk

As a third-generation Arizonan who has served on the Tempe City Council since 2008, I have always kept a close eye on policies being considered in Washington that could have unintended consequences for our local communities.

Proposals that would take away the pharmacy benefits of patients and employers have recently grabbed my attention and should generate concern for anyone who receives health care coverage from their employer or a union.

These bills target pharmacy benefit companies, which are critical members of the health care system that help secure savings for employers, unions, families, and patients. Along with savings, pharmacy benefit companies also help enable better health outcomes and provide flexibility and choices for employers to offer prescription drug coverage to their employees. They provide at least $145 billion in value each year to our health care system.

These proposed policies would increase costs and eliminate options for employers and labor unions to offer prescription drug coverage, putting care at risk for many of the 45% of Arizonans who have employer-sponsored health insurance coverage and the 169,000 union members in the state. Restricting pharmacy benefit companies would mean fewer choices, restricting union and business’ ability to design health care offerings that work best for them and the families they support.

These proposed policies also do nothing to address high prescription drug prices that make health care so expensive for so many Arizonans. Big Pharma companies set drugs prices. No one else sets prices for them.

Big Pharma has demonstrated countless times a propensity to maximize their profits by gaming the system to stifle competition in the marketplace and setting sky-high prices. Between 2008 and 2021, the launch prices set by big drug companies on 500 drugs increased from an average $2,115 per year in 2008 to $180,000 per year in 2021. In just the first few weeks of this year, we have seen drugmakers hike the prices on nearly 1,000 existing drugs.

During a recent hearing, Frederick Isasi, executive director of Families USA, testified, “The vast majority of money that is flowing through the system is landing in the pockets of Big Pharma…And the reason that we’ve got (pharmacy benefit managers) is because they are negotiating a better rate…We know what the prices are. And we know that they’re saving us money. And that’s why (The Congressional Budget Office) gives us a score that says if you take them away, prices go up.”

The CBO estimated that a 2019 proposal targeting the savings secured by pharmacy benefit companies in Medicare Part D would cost taxpayers $177 billion over 10 years. CBO also found eliminating savings, secured in the form of rebates, would increase premiums on seniors by an average of 25%.

People in our communities cannot afford to lose the savings delivered by pharmacy benefit companies and should not face the risk of losing the health care coverage they have now if options that support those plans are taken away from their employer or union.

The only entity that stands to gain from these proposals is the pharmaceutical industry, so it’s no wonder they are the ones behind these policies that will only hurt Arizonans. When asked who would benefit from legislation targeting pharmacy benefits, professor of economics at the University of Chicago Casey Mulligan said, “The winners are the manufacturers…There’ll be less competition among manufacturers like Big Pharma.”

Arizona’s lawmakers should send a strong message to Big Pharma that their price gouging days are over.

Senators Kyrsten Sinema and Mark Kelly have been strong champions for protecting our health care benefits and lowering prescription drug prices by holding Big Pharma accountable. For example, Senator Sinema recently opposed the misguided Pharmacy Benefit Manager Transparency Act, one of several misguided proposals that would undermine health care benefits.

I strongly urge our leaders in Congress to protect our health care benefits by opposing misguided proposals targeting pharmacy benefit companies. Instead, let’s continue to hold Big Pharma accountable to make prescription drugs more affordable for Arizonans.