#241 Are PBMs Good For Competition? A Cost-Benefit Analysis of the Effects of Regulating Pharmacy Benefit Managers

Pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) are being called out for engaging in allegedly anticompetitive business practices that make prescription drugs less affordable. But do PBMs actually promote competition in the healthcare industry? In this episode, Professor Casey Mulligan, an economist and law professor at the University of Chicago, discusses what his research indicates could be the unintended adverse consequences of imposing transparency requirements and other regulatory burdens on PBMs. Listen to this episode to hear the arguments against targeting PBMs with restrictive legislation and enforcement proceedings as a means of reining in high drug prices. With special guest: Casey Mulligan, Professor of Economics, University of Chicago Related Links: Casey Mulligan, Ending Pay for PBM Performance: Consequences for Prescription Drug Prices, Utilization, and Government Spending (Sept. 2023) Casey Mulligan, Testimony before Senate Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation (Feb. 16, 2023) Casey Mulligan, In Defense of Pharmacy Benefit Managers, Wall Street Journal Op-Ed (July 11, 2022) Hosted by: Alicia Downey and Jeny Maier