Bobby Patel

Pharmacist & Independent Pharmacy Owner

[Sarah Huckabee Sanders @SarahHuckabee]

PBMs have shown where their priorities lie - and it’s not with the consumer.

We are drawing a line here in Arkansas to ensure Arkansans have access to the prescription drugs they need at low prices.

https://t.co/wYCjV43JSP

[Sarah Huckabee Sanders @SarahHuckabee]

Arkansas’ pharmacists know best: drug middle-men called PBMs inflate costs and reduce access.

I’m proud that Arkansas is the first state in the nation to take action against those practices.

[Bobby Patel @bpat25]

@RepLoudermilk @realDonaldTrump @SpeakerJohnson This should have included PBM reform. Without it independent pharmacies like mine in your district are at risk of closing.

[Rebecca Robbins @RebeccaDRobbins]

New: @ReedAbelson and I spent months reporting on a phenomenon that’s affecting communities around the country: the big pharmacy benefit managers are paying many local drugstores too little for them to cover their costs, driving many out of business. https://t.co/lUVDEDnQq5

[Rep. Diana Harshbarger @RepHarshbarger]

This afternoon, @RepAuchincloss and I were joined by several colleagues and pharmacists across the United States to fight back against the abusive practices of Pharmacy Benefit Managers.

The Pharmacists Fight Back Act is the most comprehensive PBM reform legislation ever introduced at the federal level that will provide much-needed transparency and lower drug costs for all Americans.

[American Pharmacists Association @pharmacists]

Pharmacy Benefit Managers are a growing threat to pharmacies & health care systems. PBMs have directly led to the lights going out for thousands of pharmacies from coast to coast. Visit: https://t.co/zs46f7tjey and tell Congress it’s time to act! #EndPBMsNow #Keepthelightson

[Rep. Jake Auchincloss 🟧 @RepAuchincloss]

What are PBMs - the middlemen of drug pricing? https://t.co/eA6QmffmIl

[ARxC-Health Rights @ARxCAdvocates]

Pharmacies across Georgia are struggling to stay afloat due to the opaque practices of #PBMs, leading to less access to necessary treatments for Georgia patients. Our state's patients and independent pharmacies need PBM reform NOW. More in @AJC: https://t.co/nCIvYIe5Ts

[More Perfect Union @MorePerfectUS]

BREAKING: The FTC is suing the three companies that handle 80% of U.S. prescriptions over the cost of insulin.

These three huge pharmacy-benefit managers are supposed to negotiate discounts on behalf of customers, but have steered patients away from less-expensive medicines.

[FTC @FTC]

The interim report also finds that PBMs hold substantial influence over independent pharmacies by imposing unfair, arbitrary, and harmful contractual terms that can impact independent pharmacies’ ability to stay in business and serve their communities. /7

[APCI @_APCI]

“The lack of accountability and regulation [of #PBMs] has led to a real imbalance... If we let this go unchecked, more pharmacies will go out of business, and that is going to hurt patients more than anything.” | @MLNow
https://t.co/ToJRcZkSS9

[APCI @_APCI]

"I'm working for free a lot," he said. "And I don't mind. I love to serve the community. But I kind of resent having to do that because of large corporations, huge #pbms, that are making millions of dollars a year." https://t.co/0ANekZdMS5 @ArkansasOnline

[APCI @_APCI]

“Enough is enough. You cannot continue to expect the independent pharmacies to be under the thumb of (pharmacy benefit managers), losing money to do their job in service of the community.” | @TRIBlive
https://t.co/EZvpXEvhVA

[Jeremy Counts @HokiePharmacist]

You fired Joe for sticking up for those who were being beaten down @nlpruitt. I spit upon your name.

[Bobby Patel @bpat25]

@RPhFarm @HokiePharmacist @GeorgiaPharmacy Not when I am the only independent left in town and the chains won’t carry liquid morphine. This company is going to have to learn the hard way!

[Bobby Patel @bpat25]

@racarlson100 @HokiePharmacist @GeorgiaPharmacy Give them a choice to switch to one of the other 15 hospice options in town within a month or find another pharmacy. We will not support a company that will do things like this.

[Bobby Patel @bpat25]

@MelissaReybold @GovKemp It seems the numbers are made up! How are you going to fix this @DrDeanBurke? All independents should boycott helping anyone from @GaDPH until this payment disparity is fixed. I know they call me several times a month to charge CMS accounts for ppl w/o insurance @GeorgiaPharmacy

[Bobby Patel @bpat25]

@MelissaReybold Where is @GovKemp getting the cost of this bill? Doesn’t the PCMA lobbyist always claim they pay independents more than chains? So in theory if they were to pay independents the same as chains then they should see savings bc the chains already get less according to PBMs.

[Doug Collins @RepDougCollins]

This week, it was disheartening to see that Gov. Kemp chose to veto a bill that would have helped independent pharmacists across this state.

The pharmacists don’t want anything except to be treated the same as the PBMs that control the State Health Benefits plan to their own advantage.

The vetoed bill would have been a positive step forward, but instead the PBMs will be allowed to pay themselves differently for the same drugs than your local pharmacy is paid.

This veto shows loudly that the HARDWORKING GEORGIANS that Gov. Kemp speaks of must not include the Independent Pharmacies only the PBM conglomerates!