Seventy-four percent of those enrolled in the Federal Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) oppose a new effort by Congress to change the program’s prescription drug benefits, according to a new poll released by the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA).
“Congress should pass a law prohibiting prescription drug plans from participating in federal employees programs if they are owned by pharmacy chains or health plans”
The survey of 305 civilian federal employees in the Washington, DC metro area was conducted in response to the FEHBP Prescription Drug Integrity, Transparency, and Cost Savings Act (H.R. 4489) sponsored by Representatives Stephen Lynch (D-MA), Gerald Connolly (D-VA), Elijah Cummings (D-MD), and Lloyd Doggett (D-TX). The bill would give Congress the power to set prices, limit the pharmacy organizations that can participate, and force the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), which administers FEHBP, to make other changes as well.
Currently, FEHBP uses the same approach to pharmacy benefits as Fortune 500 companies, Medicare Part D and other benefits programs which rely upon consumer choice and competition rather than price controls to hold down costs and maintain flexible benefits. Eighty-three percent of FEHBP’s enrollees are satisfied with their prescription drug coverage, according to the survey.
“These new data clearly show that politicians supporting legislation to change FEHBP’s pharmacy benefit could be walking into a political minefield. By lopsided margins, federal workers like their prescription drug benefits, like the way OPM administers FEHBP, and think Congress could make things worse, not better, by trying to micromanage it,” said PCMA President and CEO Mark Merritt.
Key findings from the Ayres, McHenry & Associates survey include: