Spread Pricing an Issue for PBMs

September 20, 2019

“People understand formularies and rebates, but the idea a PBM makes money on each prescription—by charging a state more than it pays pharmacies—doesn’t fit with a narrative of bringing value and reducing prices, which is how PBMs advertise themselves,” CP3 Director Dr. Walid Gellad told Managed Care Magazine. The article discusses the increasing scrutiny paid to Pharmacy Benefit Managers, particularly their practice of spread pricing.  Spread pricing is the difference between the price PBMs pay the pharmacy and the price they charge their clients, and it adds to the complexity of drug pricing.