About SPAR
Why Florida needs PBM reform
Small business Pharmacies Aligned for Reform (SPAR) is a group of Floridian neighborhood pharmacists and other advocates who care about preserving patient access and keeping drug costs affordable. Our sole focus is on putting a stop to anti-competitive practices that PBMs use to short circuit the free market while placing additional burdens on patients and pharmacists. Our goal is to champion legislation that will promote neighborhood pharmacies' ability to continue providing medications and care to the local patients and communities they serve.
Who Do PBM Predatory Tactics Hurt?
PATIENTS
Forcing neighborhood pharmacies out of PBM "preferred" health networks causes many patients to be forced to travel extra miles from their homes to receive medications - simply because their local pharmacy is not in their plan. This practice not only steers business away from local community pharmacies, it severely restricts patients’ access to medications and drives up their costs.
PHARMACISTS
Many neighborhood pharmacies diligently refill prescriptions only to be hit with reimbursements that are pennies on the dollar – with some even facing negative reimbursements or clawbacks – while PBMs continue to make record-breaking profits. No business can sustain operations under this model, and it is a clear manipulation of the system that promotes anti-competitive practices.
PROVIDERS
PBMs are overstepping their scope and making medical decisions best left to physicians and pharmacists – and their years of training. PBMs are motivated by profit, not by what is best for the patient, and many times PBMs require the use of drugs or specialty medications that are against doctors' advisement or not the most beneficial for a patient's needs.
PAYORS
The anti-competitive policies that PBMs push increase health care costs for everyone. PBMs don’t make or provide medication – they don’t even touch the medication – yet they add costs to the overall health care system that must be absorbed by pharmacists, patients, and all Floridians.