Welcome to the Party, Mayor
What to Know: The mayor of Washington D.C. is learning the effects of illegal immigration the hard way.
The TPPF Take: TPPF welcomes the mayor calling on the federal government to do its job and secure the border.
“If Mayor Bowser would like to stop the influx of migrants into her city, she should instead join the calls to fix the root cause of illegal migration: an administration that encourages illegal crossings and refuses to secure the border,” says TPPF’s John Hostettler.
For more on the D.C. mayor and border security, click here.
Responding to Tragedy
What to Know: The Texas House of Representatives has released its initial report on the “systemic failures and egregious poor decision making” that occurred during the mass shooting in Uvalde, TX.
The TPPF Take: The interim report provides enough information that lawmakers should begin quickly considering solutions to keep all Texans safe.
“The report leaves us with an undeniable conclusion: the tragedy in Uvalde could have been somewhat mitigated if certain practices and procedures were correctly implemented,” TPPF’s Derek Cohen. “Individuals failed in the response, and we must seek to change the organizational culture that permitted such failures.”
For more on keeping schools safe, click here.
PBM: Patients Being Manipulated
What to Know: Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) are the middlemen that make drug prices more expensive. But even when they try to pass on savings through lower premiums, it just means sick people are subsidizing everyone else.
The TPPF Take: PBMs are running a scheme that drives up health care costs for everyone.
“By controlling what drugs are included in your health plan, the PBMs can negotiate down the cost of purchasing medication from the manufacturer,” says TPPF’s David Balat. “The problem is that the PBM and the insurer then pocket 99% of the so-called ‘rebate.’ Very little, if any, actually gets to patients. To offset the rebate, the drug maker jacks up the list price of the drug, creating a never ending upward price spiral.”
For more on pharmacy benefit managers, click here.