09 Dec To Advance Health Equity in 2023, All Stakeholders Should Be Held Accountable for the Rising Cost of Care
The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) was intended to support American families by making healthcare more affordable. And while underserved and diverse communities have much to celebrate, the bill failed to address significant issues driving up the cost of care.
Hospitals, Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs), and insurance companies avoided having to make much-needed reforms. We continue to see evidence of patients being left behind as these industries’ profits skyrocket. [1]
Pharmacy Benefit Managers continue to have their revenues soar while directly benefiting from the lack of transparency, with three PBM companies controlling 85% of the entire market.[2]
Meanwhile, insurance companies continue to buy up PBMs, ensuring less competition and higher prices for patients.[3]
Hospitals are gaming federal programs intended to help low-income neighborhoods while failing to provide the charity care services patients deserve.
The New York Times recently published shocking reports exposing how hospitals are abusing a drug pricing program called 340B and slashing resources intended for low-income and minority communities to improve care for wealthier patients. [4]
Thankfully, elected leaders like the Mayor of Richmond Virginia are speaking up.[5]
To truly lower healthcare costs, and achieve better outcomes for every patient, policymakers must ensure all stakeholders in the healthcare industry are held accountable for the rising cost of care.
The Health Equity Collaborative is committed to confronting the rising cost of healthcare and working with Congress to pursue real reforms on behalf of the populations who need it most.
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[1] https://www.uncovered.health/features/three-health-plan-predictions-for-2022/
[3] https://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/news/ama-report-examines-pbm-and-insurer-market-consolidation
[4] https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/24/business/nonprofit-hospitals-poor-patients.html
[5] https://richmondfreepress.com/news/2022/sep/29/it-immoral-profit-backs-black-and-brown-residents-/