Press Releases | March 28, 2018
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Patients For Affordable Drugs Executive Director, Ben Wakana, issued the following statement regarding the announcement that Aetna plans to pass drug rebates to consumers:
“The recent changes announced by Aetna and United will offer some relief to about 10.5 million people — 3 percent of the U.S. population. These announcements are designed to protect secret and often anti-competitive practices of PBMs and insurers. Rebates fail to lower list drug prices which millions of Americans are forced to pay.
“Patients and consumers will not know the prices United and Aetna negotiate and the billions they pocket from prescription drugs.
“Drug corporations should lower the list prices of drugs. And we should have transparent, negotiated prices that patients can see, which would eliminate the need for rebates altogether.”
BACKGROUND