Some 300 or more patients, pharmacists and community advocates are expected to gather on Friday, May 17, at Express Scripts’ corporate offices in St. Louis, to hold a demonstration organized by Unite for Safe Medications founder Loretta Boesing.
"Countless patients and pharmacists are devastated by the loss of their local pharmacies,” said USFM founder and protest organizer Loretta Boesing. “Safe and convenient access to medications is vital, and these closures are a public health crisis. We must unite to protect patients from the destructive practices of PBMs.” The demonstration will take place from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
A post on the National Community Pharmacists Association said that its CEO Douglas Hoey will be in attendance on May 17 along with pharmacists, patients, caregivers and physicians who are "expected to protest patient steering."
“Patient steering, protest organizers say, might be a lucrative business strategy for vertically integrated PBMs, but it ultimately offers no benefits to patients who get lost in the shuffle when their prescriptions are transferred to other pharmacies—often without their knowledge. Patient steering, say most community pharmacists, also equates to lost business for them, giving PBMs another unfair advantage in their war of attrition against independent businesses," NCPA said.
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