Only Lewis Carroll could appreciate how pharmaceuticals are currently priced in the U.S. Unfortunately, as the pricing process continues to grow curiouser and curiouser, the costs being imposed on patients and the health care system continues to worsen.
These large costs arise because the regulatory environment is plagued with adverse market incentives. The current adverse incentives for pharmacy bene t managers (PBMs) – the middlemen who process prescription transactions, negotiate drug discounts, and manage the drug formularies for health plans – exemplify these problems.
