NYT is taking comments on PBMs.
I don’t often read the times, but one of the guys from town posted this on the interweb. He’s looking for trouble because he was a small town pharmacist. He really dislikes CVS. I, personally, have more loathing for Optum…but to each their own.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/09/us/overcharged-drugs-pharmacy-benefit-manager.html
Interesting, not sure I would comment on PBM’s for the NYT (I have a definite opinion about our healthcare and related systems here in the US) but I too have a strong dislike for both CVS and Optim) CVS about a year ago acquired Aetna and by rights of ownership dislike Aetna as well - my wife and I have a Part D Aetna policy that changed after the acquisition in ways we were not thrilled with)
I guess I could even say I hate CVS and Optim. When I say hate I don’t mean like I hate anchovies on my pizza. More that I abhor and loathe them. I detest and despise them both! They are in one sense the epitome of capitalism without any humanity. But then that perhaps is what in our current environment capitalism is. It raises a lot of questions that perhaps we will one day address.
Thanks mohe0001 for posting! Interesting and it certainly is one discussion surrounding the topic(s) of healthcare.
What do you think all these CVS closures are about?
Every neighborhood here has, like 10 CVS stores, so they could stand to close some. I don’t think they can staff them. But, it raises questions. They put all the small pharmacies out of business, now they are downsizing en masse. CVS Closing Hundreds Of Stores: Will MN Locations Survive? | Southwest Minneapolis, MN Patch
It’s been a long time since I picked any sizable nits, so maybe I should get some practice…
I’m gonna suggest diffidently that perhaps it would be good to spell out acronyms like “PBM” the first time you use 'em. I had to look that one up on Google. I discovered it doesn’t mean “Permanent Biscuit Marker” as I had speculated. Most folks on this forum probably had no trouble with it, but I probably don’t spend as much time here as most folks. Common acronyms like “GOP” and “NASA” probably don’t need this, but PBM is a bit more restricted in its usage.
When I’m with my colleagues, everyone will know what I mean when I mention “IPS”, but anywhere else most folks won’t (that’s “International Planetarium Society”). Similarly, in the planetarium field, the acronym “SOB” doesn’t mean what it does outside that field: it means “Star of Bethlehem,” and refers to a planetarium show we all did in December many years ago. OTOH, after doing that show 23 times in a row, and hearing that scratch in the tape as the Christmas story was just starting for the 532nd time in my career, sometimes the more common meaning drifted into my mind…
OK, I"m holding out my virtual wrist now, and you can all take a digital slap at it if you want. 
–Keith
Your right. PBM = Pharmacy Benefit Manager.
We acronym out on this website.
This PBM conversation has been going on for many years. 