How “Blamevertising” Explains The Modern American Healthcare Crisis

The industry trade group that represents the Pharma industry (PhRMA) is running a series of attack ads on “middlemen” – blaming Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) for high drug prices, suggesting they are making record profits by pocketing the discounts they are supposed to negotiate on behalf of patients.

In response, the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association who represents the PBMs has launched attack ads of their own. The trade group for insurance plans, AHIP, is involved too and long running advocacy ads from large groups like the AARP complete the picture.

This multi-player “blamevertising” fight perfectly sums up the battle over high prescription drug costs in America: everyone blames someone else making it hard to know who to believe. For a more balanced look at this fight, you can try reading this NPR article. After you do, at the very least you’ll understand why no one seems to have a solution for this impasse yet. When everyone blames everyone else, perhaps the real truth is that the current reality is all of their faults.