Andrew Russell

📢Testimony Reveals Per-Script Payments to Benefit Consultants In testimony before Congress, Christin Deacon, a former benefits plan manager, testified: “In one example… CVS Caremark agreed to pay [a benefits consultant] $2.50 per retail prescription and $7 per mail and specialty prescription filled by the group health plan members. This dynamic does not reward reducing cost, nor does it reward reducing utilization. It rewards increased volume and handsomely rewards increased volume filled through those channels that generate the highest profits for PBMs and their affiliates.” VIDEO ▶️ : youtube.com/watch?v=jNXHzZ… Her written testimony includes screenshots of the 📄 documents supporting her claim and can be found here: …public-static-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/marcom/social-…   These amounts are often far higher than what pharmacists are paid for dispensing actual medicine to patients.

This session, Tennessee joined @realDonaldTrump’s mission to stand against healthcare monopolies. For far too long, vertically integrated PBMs have savaged the marketplace.  They control all aspects of the market and as they drive up costs, and force independent pharmacies out of business - while they collect over $300 billion in rebates! We’re fighting back with #HB1959 to restore competition, lower drug prices, and put patients first. @DonaldJTrumpJr

UnitedHealth @UHC just had its biggest quarterly earnings EVER. They do this by denying care and not paying those who deliver care. They put profits above patients. I urge every patient or employer to drop them immediately. Enough is enough.

Let’s make it happen in Minnie 🚀@mnhouseDFL @mnhousegop #MNSenate #MNLegislature

This morning, HB 1959 passed the House on a 86-7 vote. This bill prevents PBM ownership of pharmacies. As Senate passed it yesterday, the bill moves to the Governor for signature. We are grateful for the leadership of Rep. Rick Scarbrough! #PBMReform #PatientsOverProfits

And it passed 86-7!! On to the governor!

The Louisiana House passed HB1236 102-0 today, a unanimous statement in support of local pharmacies and patient access. The bill requires PBMs to reimburse local pharmacies at least NADAC plus Louisiana’s Medicaid dispensing fee ($11.81). If NADAC doesn’t cover the pharmacy’s cost, the PBM has to pay the difference. LIPA thanks Rep. Jason DeWitt for authoring this legislation and appreciates every member of the House that voted yes. Onto the senate! See below for the full bill. #LaLege

Terminally-ill cancer patient needs #180 oxycodone 5mg tablets filled. They’ve met their OOP for the year with @WellcarePlans, so all of their co-pays are now $0 at the pharmacy counter for the rest of the year. @WellcarePlans pay us $12.15 for those #180 tablets while they pay the Walmart down the road $80.07 for the same prescription on the same insurance plan! How the fuck is that even close to being fair? Walmart and our independent pharmacy are both standard “in-network” pharmacies by @CMSGov standards. Why the huge discrepancy in reimbursements? Where are you at @FTC, how are the other 2 settlements with the large PBMs going? @WellcarePlans uses @ExpressScripts as their wonderful PBM! The same entity you all “settled” up with a few short months ago. This is why your local pharmacies are shutting down nationwide. The playing field is no where close to being fair.

When Roger Marshall pointed to community pharmacists in the crowd and asked about auditing TRICARE, it wasn’t just a moment... it was a message. Our military families, and the pharmacists who serve them, deserve nothing less than a system that works for patients - not middlemen. #AuditTRICARE #PBMReform

Had two great days on the hill fighting to keep Independent Pharmacies open and community’s served! Let’s goooo! Huge thank you to @BettyMcCollum04 for co-sponsoring H.R. 6609 and H.R.6610 the Pharmacists Fight Back Act! Thank you for supporting your community pharmacies!! @Commpharmacy @MN_Indys @stpcornerdrug @loegering1186

PBMs never change. @Humana removed generic Farxiga from their formulary THE day it lost exclusive manufacturer rights which resulted in a 95% price DECREASE. $350 drug yesterday=covered (with brand copay.) Same drug today $10= pt go find something else for diabetes/heart failure

PBMs paying influencers $13,000 for a single video that’s coordinated to protect the PBMs vertical integration model - aka monopoly. This year, TN is working hard to break-up pharmacy monopolies, increase competition, improve access and protect the free-market. It’s time the PBMs return their rebates to the patient, not keep them as enhanced profits. @realDonaldTrump @mcuban @TruthRX @TNPharmacists

Surely less transparency will help… good call 🤡

Are you fucking kidding me? Where are you at on this one @FTC Was this part of your lawsuit settlement with @ExpressScripts ? Asleep at the wheel, or do we just not care anymore?

2026 Minnesota Pharmacy Legislative Day: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Help support our lobby costs ➡️ givebutter.com/mnindy-100 Thanks for hosting @MinnPharmAssoc ! 🙏 #CrushthePBMarchy #MNproud #MPA @mnhouseDFL @mnhouseGOP @senateDFL @mnsrc

🛑 CVS and the $117.7M Medicare Fraud Settlement It’s Groundhog Day for CVS Health. The pharmacy giant has agreed to pay $117.7 million to resolve allegations of violating the False Claims Act. This latest settlement stems from a scheme involving untruthful diagnosis codes to artificially inflate payments from Medicare. 💸 The Fraudulent Scheme Under Medicare Advantage, the government pays insurers like CVS (through its subsidiary, Aetna) a fixed amount based on a “risk adjustment” model. This means the sicker the patient, the higher the payment. To maximize profits, CVS allegedly: Manipulated Patient Records: Added diagnosis codes to patient charts based on history, even when there was no current evidence of the condition. Fabricated Diagnoses: For five years, they reportedly listed patients as "morbidly obese" when they were not, just to trigger higher reimbursements. Exploited the System: Systematically "pumped up" sick statistics to collect the largest possible government checks. ⚖️ The Double Standard If you can write a big enough check, fraud is legal. While CVS pays the fine and continues its operations, its executives avoid jail time, and its government contracts remain intact. Meanwhile, small-scale fraud often results in immediate and severe legal consequences. 🛡️ Protect Your Health and Data Tired of the corporate hypocrisy? It might be time to switch to a pharmacy that puts patients over profits. Forest Park Pharmacy offers a more transparent and trustworthy alternative.

Commentary on why market share of Rxs filled by mail order phcies (not Rx dollars which is skewed by PBM's steering to their specialty phcies) has never taken off. "Sorry Amazon, but Your Mail-Order Pharmacy Is a Quagmire—and It’s Not About to Get Better" worldofdtcmarketing.com/sorry-amazon-b…

Here in Pa, our state hired CVS for the 245,000 covered lives under our states employee/retiree benefits. Last year a Pa judge ordered CVS Caremark ( Their PBM arm) to pay $290 million for overcharging Medicare. The whistleblower lawsuit was filed in 2014. healthcaredive.com/news/cvs-carem…

Great question! Why are they allowed to continue to participate in government programs after continued violations? They rip off taxpayers and seniors and yet they are still here. Do you know what happens to providers when fraud is perpetrated? They are kicked out or go to jail.