While health insurance plans and pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) negotiate significant rebates and discounts when purchasing medications from manufacturers, they don't pass those savings along to patients. In fact, what a patient pays at the pharmacy counter may be a much higher price than what their insurance company paid for the exact same medicine. This flawed system benefits health plans and PBMs with billions of dollars in profits, while patients continue to struggle to pay for their lifesaving medicines, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic.

On Wednesday, February 17, the California Partnership for Access to Treatment and the California Access Coalition co-hosted a virtual briefing about a legislative effort to increase the quality of health care in California and ease financial hardships for patients by reforming the current rebate system. Legislation  introduced by Assemblymember Tom Daly (D-Anaheim) requires that at least 90% of rebates go to patients - where they belong.