Abdul El-Sayed Urges Ban on 3rd-Party PBMs as Democrats Lack Medicare-for-All Votes
Updated
Updated · Yahoo! Voices · Aug 9
Abdul El-Sayed Urges Ban on 3rd-Party PBMs as Democrats Lack Medicare-for-All Votes
1 articles · Updated · Yahoo! Voices · Aug 9
Summary
Abdul El-Sayed said Democrats should outlaw pharmacy benefit managers as an interim healthcare reform, arguing the middlemen are a major reason consumers pay more for prescription drugs.
On CNN, he said a Medicare-for-All bill still lacks enough Senate Democratic votes regardless of November's election outcome, making narrower steps more realistic in the near term.
El-Sayed paired the PBM proposal with tougher antitrust enforcement against large healthcare companies, saying Democrats should pursue both immediate cost-cutting measures and a broader single-payer goal.
Looking past the 2026 midterms and toward 2028, he said he hopes to build a Senate majority capable of passing Medicare-for-All, while pushing smaller reforms in the meantime.