Illinois Turns to PBMs to Lower Drug Prices Instead of Centralized Purchasing

Illinois spent around four percent of its $23 billion healthcare budget on drug costs for its Medicaid enrollees. In an effort to reduce drug costs, Illinois has turned to pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs). In contrast, Michigan decided to use a centralized purchasing approach for its specialty drugs. Illinois paid substantially less for hepatitis C drugs compared to Michigan,

“The bottom line is that states can often get a lot more bang for their buck when they use the private sector to help leverage this power when it comes to purchasing prescription drugs. Illinois successfully accomplished this when buying drugs that treat hepatitis C for the state’s Medicaid patients, and its success is a lesson for other states.” Read more here.

(Source: Ike Brannon, Forbes, 5/25/21)