Political Quotes

“I thank Dr. Dunn for his keen insight on this very important subject and for his comments. Madam Speaker, I have a couple other comments about PBMs. As I mentioned earlier, if you look at their website, if you look at what their mission statement is, it says that they are there to lower drug costs. Well, that is not working out very well. Let me say this: I am not opposed to anybody making money. I get it. That is capitalism, and that is fine. But three PBMs control 80 percent of the market--80 percent of the market. Three companies control that, three PBMs. The largest PBM, in 2016, had gross revenues that exceeded that of Ford Motor Company, Pfizer Pharmaceuticals, and McDonald's added together. Again, I am not opposed to anybody making money, but tell me how a company can make more than Pfizer Pharmaceuticals, McDonald's, and Ford Motor Company combined. To make matters even worse, those companies are worldwide. This PBM is just domestic. They are just here in America. Again, I am not opposed to anybody making money, but tell me the value they are bringing to the system. They are not bringing any value to the system. That is why I am in support of what CMS is proposing: doing away with the DIR fees; making sure that the rebates, the discounts, if you will, are given at the point of sale; and increasing transparency. Madam Speaker, the next speaker is a good friend, a member of the Georgia delegation, Congressman Rick Allen from Augusta.…”