On the recordSeptember 13, 2016
Madam Speaker, Mr. Loebsack hit it. That last little part right there was dead-on. This is about the patient. This is about serving that patient who is used to that trust and faith, who understands it, and also really a part of that healthcare system that has been provided a long time that is now at risk of going away. It is not too strong to say that if we do not look at this--and some say, well, this is a free market, let them go contract. Government is one of the biggest payers of this, and this is something we have got to get at. In fact, something Mr. Loebsack brought up as I was listening to him talk, there was a study, TRICARE, in fact. In just a moment, I am going to introduce Mr. Scott here. He is from Georgia. He is on the Committee on Armed Services. He is a friend. But TRICARE did a study where it found that, if it eliminated PBMs from the TRICARE program, it would save roughly $1.3 billion per year. We are up here arguing about problems in our budget, and we could save this much money? No, this is about profits. This is about consolidation. This is about vertical integration. This is about taking control of a market in which three to four companies control 83 percent of the market. We are not talking about a small little startup. Mr. Loebsack is right on, dead- on. I thank him so much for the work that he is doing, and I appreciate it.…





