OPINION: Don’t Increase My Employees’ Health Costs 

Nevada is grappling with severe economic challenges. The recent jobs report reveals that unemployment in the Silver State is at a staggering 5.1 percent—the third highest in the nation. Housing prices have surged by nearly 6.0 percent since 2024, and with interest rates at a high of 7.5 percent, the income required to buy a home has skyrocketed to over $110,000.

Prices of food, energy, and almost everything else are also higher. Yet, recently, instead of addressing these issues directly, the White House decided to prioritize the interests of big drug manufacturers by working to limit Nevadans’ access to affordable prescription drugs. It did so by issuing a report supporting pummeling groups known as Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) with new, punitive regulations.

The health plans offered by Nevada businesses like mine contract with PBMs to manage their affairs. These groups help control our employees’ medication costs by negotiating bulk pricing discounts and rebates directly from drug manufacturers.

The drug manufacturers want PBMs regulated because these groups’ efforts translate into tangible savings for Nevada residents. While that is good news for the citizenry, it is bad news for this special-interest group.

Studies show that PBMs have saved consumers hundreds of billions since 2016 and are on track to save nearly a trillion more over the next ten years. Moreover, client satisfaction with PBMs is through the roof. Some of the most prestigious Nevada institutions utilize PBMs, including the University of Nevada and the Public Employees Benefit System.

As the managers of our health plans, PBMs do far more than reduce costs. By leveraging advanced technologies and data analytics, they optimize prescription processes and minimize administrative burdens on patients to ensure that all healthcare patients receive the care they need. In a state as diverse as Nevada, where healthcare resources are not evenly distributed, these streamlined processes ensure equitable medication access for all residents, regardless of their geographic location or socioeconomic status. In short, PBMs are the guardians of fairness in our healthcare system, ensuring no one is left behind.

The only “problem” with PBMs is that the savings they obtain cut directly into the bottom line of big drug companies. To neutralize these cost savings, the drug companies have employed an army of lobbyists in Carson City and Washington, D.C. The industry’s lobbyists and multimillion-dollar advertising campaigns have thrown up a large cloud of smoke in an attempt to muddy the waters on what these companies do and don’t do while at the same time showering millions of dollars on politicians gullible enough to do their bidding. That is why anti-PBM regulatory efforts, like the recent White House report, happen.

All we Nevada business owners and consumers ask for is a level playing field. Unfortunately, Big Pharma will stop at nothing to ensure they reap all the benefits and have shown that they will work on crushing anything that stands in their way. Our elected leaders need to get wise to this scheme and put Nevadans first.