Josh Hardin

Slightly cantankerous.

[Ginny Crisp, PharmD @ginny_crisp]

The FTC, on the record: the big-3 PBMs marked up the specialty generics for leukemia, MS, transplant, renal disease, and HIV the most, at the pharmacies they own. Two-thirds of the specialty generics reviewed were marked up more than 100 percent. The sicker the member, the bigger the spread.

[Connor Boyack 📚 @cboyack]

“Before the cameras had a chance to ID them”

But I thought these were merely license plate readers….?

[Pharmer Trent @tmac622]

Tricare should be the BEST paying plan in the country. Our service members and their families deserve to have providers competing for their business, not dreading it.

Look, I’m all for saving money and there is no doubt the solutions Mr Reybold would do just that…but let’s not act like Congress is cost-averse.

DoW pays $4,000 for a screw. $900 for a rivet. Don’t you think a service member would appreciate not having the added stress of worrying about their kid’s medicine coming in the mail in time?

[Thomas Massie @RepThomasMassie]

Might as well call it Trumpcare now.

Our party has made no serious effort to repeal Obamacare and legalize affordable health insurance after taking control of the House, Senate & White House.

Why? Because the current system enriches insurance and hospital companies.

[Ginny Crisp, PharmD @ginny_crisp]

A biosimilar launched at a fraction of the brand's price. Is your plan on it, or is your PBM still steering to the brand because the brand pays a bigger rebate? Pull the claims and find out.

[American Pharmacies @APRxNews]

𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐘𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐄𝐟𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐁𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤 𝐔𝐩 𝐏𝐁𝐌 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬

Today the NYT featured a story on state and federal bipartisan efforts to eliminate the conflicts of interest that come with PBMs owning pharmacies.  “The idea that P.B.M.s should be severed from pharmacies has garnered support from 39 state attorneys general; 25 policy and advocacy groups; and Mark Cuban, the billionaire entrepreneur who runs an online pharmacy and has been a vocal critic of the big conglomerates.” American Pharmacies is proud to stand with the Break Up Big Medicine Coalition in support of the PBM Act, a federal bill to bar PBMs from owning pharmacies. We believe patients deserve a healthcare system built on competition, transparency, and choice—not one dominated by vertically integrated PBM conglomerates.

Read the article here: https://t.co/h7ORlONboN

[MAZE @mazemoore]

Reminder that if you are fully vaccinated and up to date on boosters, you are allowed to celebrate the Fourth of July.

Those vaccinated are even permitted to have a very small backyard barbecue. Five person maximum.

[Forest Park Pharmacy @ForestParkPharm]

🚨 $100 MILLION AND NO AUDIT?! 🚨

If you want to know why your prescription drug prices are absolutely skyrocketing, look no further than Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs). A massive new report from the Iowa State Auditor just blew the lid off how these middlemen are playing the system—and it is infuriating.

Here is exactly what’s going down:

1️⃣ The "Spread Pricing" Scam

PBMs are supposed to help manage prescription drug plans and keep costs down. Instead, they are using predatory tactics like spread pricing.

How does it work? The PBM charges the health plan (and the taxpayers) a high price for a drug, pays the actual pharmacy a much lower price to dispense it, and pockets the massive difference as pure profit. Oh, and by the way? This practice is explicitly prohibited by Iowa state law, yet it’s still happening.

2️⃣ $100 Million... with Zero Transparency

According to the Auditor’s report, just one PBM managed to rake in a staggering $100,000,000 between 2019 and 2021. That is a hundred million dollars of taxpayer money completely unaccounted for.

When the State Auditor’s office tried to investigate, the PBM simply refused to hand over critical financial information. Even worse, legislative hurdles like Senate File 478 have actively stripped away and limited the auditor's powers to hold these massive corporations accountable.

Let’s be clear: A total lack of transparency is a massive red flag. 🚩

💡 The Solution? FIRE THEM.

We don't need middlemen draining our healthcare system. At Forest Park Pharmacy, we did exactly that—we cut out the PBMs entirely. That is why we can offer completely fair, transparent, and direct pricing to our community without the hidden fees or corporate games.

[Josh Hardin @jhinbama]

Yyyyyyyeeeeeep.

[Forest Park Pharmacy @ForestParkPharm]

UnitedHealth just had the chance to save Texas Medicaid a ton of money.

Guess what they did instead.

Last month, a generic version of Farxiga hit the market. Here's the price difference:

→ Brand Farxiga: ~$600/month
→ The new generic: ~$20 for a 3-month supply

That's roughly $7,000 per patient, per year. Multiply that by the number of Texas Medicaid patients on this drug and you're looking at millions of dollars in savings on a single medication.

Texas Medicaid is still paying for the brand.

Why?

Because UnitedHealth doesn't want the cheap option. They get a massive fee from the manufacturer for every brand-name prescription. They get a kickback per fill. The expensive drug staying on the formulary is how they make money. The cheap generic showing up wipes that revenue out.

So here's where it gets fun.

Texas Medicaid uses a Drug Utilization Review Board to vet the formulary. They meet quarterly. They just met. This massive savings opportunity? Never came up.

That's not an accident. The list of drugs the board reviews is provided by OptumRx — the PBM owned by UnitedHealth Group.

The company that profits from the overpayment gets to decide what the board is allowed to look at.

Farxiga must have slipped their mind.

Meanwhile, Texas is stuck overpaying so the company they hired to control costs can pocket millions. That's the whole game.

We fired the PBMs. No contracts, no rebates, no kickbacks. Just real cash prices.

[Mrgunsngear @Mrgunsngear]

Rep Mike Johnson discusses how inflation, that congress is directly responsible for, impacts them as they make $174k/year.

He then says they have to insider trade to afford to live.

You just can't make this up.... 🤡

#congress #inflation #FAFO #CauseAndEffect #fraud

[Pharmassists @Pharmassists]

Why are inhalers like Breo and Combivent cheaper on manufacturer coupons than "Medicare" plans like Humana and Wellcare? And why can't a struggling senior citizen use manufacturer coupons? A homeless man w/ no insurance gets it cheaper. Lmao America.

[Josh Hardin @jhinbama]

@alphafox @Network_Guy8 That place was about 15 minutes from the house I grew up in...

That commercial was... Authentic. 🤣

[Josh Hardin @jhinbama]

@RepJackKimble I'm just here for the comments 🤣

[Tracy Beanz @tracybeanz]

Sorry, but this is absolutely INSANE. I’ve seen a few of these now. Share this and raise more awareness. Someone needs to help these people.

[Thomas Massie for Congress @MassieforKY]

Now I know why woke Eddie won’t debate me! He uses AI to write all his social media posts. Unfortunately for him, he’s not smart enough to remove Grok’s feedback to him. 😂

[Steve Skojec @SteveSkojec]

He’s dead on.

[Josh Hardin @jhinbama]

@TerriGreenUSA Thiiiiiis resonates 🤣

[Greg Reybold @Greg_Reybold]

TN's Fair Rx Act is the talk of the pharmacy world. 📢

It seperates PBM & pharmacy ownership - ending the "Price Maker v. Price Taker" conflict that fuels self-dealing.

Grateful to @TNPharmacists CEO @pudlo for joining us to break down the policy & politics. 🎙️👇