Busting it up

The state of Arkansas just did something radical, and it should be a model for how to make prescription drugs more affordable nationwide.

Since I’ve been in Congress, and even before, I’ve been calling for transparency and accountability for pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), which are the middlemen that stand between you and your medications. Adding no value to the patient whatsoever, they decrease the quality, affordability, and accessibility of health care, just to make a few extra dollars to line their already heavy pockets.

It's past time that we did something to reduce the harm that these bad actors are causing both patients and providers. I’ve introduced several bills in Congress aimed at doing exactly that, and I am confident that we will see progress before the end of

the year to break up vertically consolidated PBMs.

Currently, federal law allows PBMs to own pharmacies. This is a major conflict of interest, as it leads to vertical integration, patient steering, and fewer pharmacies, which translates to less accessible health care.

To explain how this works, let’s use a patient named Anne.

Anne goes to fill her prescription, only to be told that she has to use a pharmacy that is further away than the one she usually uses. Why? That pharmacy is owned by the PBM, allowing the PBM to keep more of the profits. When she gets to the pharmacy counter, she is told that she actually can’t fill the prescription that her doctor ordered and has to go with a more expensive option. Why? Because the PBM will make more money off that prescription than they will the one that Anne requested.

This scenario defies logic and yet happens every single day. PBMs’ greed forced Anne to drive further away, spend more money, and defy her doctor’s orders out of nothing but pure greed. Patients deserve to be able to use the pharmacist of their choice and to follow the advice of their doctor, not a paper pusher who does not have your best health interests in mind.

That’s why I support legislation that will prohibit PBMs from owning pharmacies, which is exactly the step that Arkansas took this week when it outlawed that type of vertical integration.

This is going to make quality health care more affordable and accessible in the state of Arkansas, and I hope to see more states adopt these measures as I continue fighting for patients’ rights in Washington.

Buddy's Briefing

in this week's edition of Buddy's Briefing, we are discussing Jesus Christ's sacrifice and His glorious resurrection to save us all from our sins. Happy Easter, everyone!

American-made medicine

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Ossoff and Warnock are bad teammates for female athletes

Rep. Carter published an op-ed highlighting the steps that Senators Ossoff and Warnock have taken to undo decades of progress in women and girls' sports.

Read the full op-ed here or below:

Ossoff and Warnock are bad teammates for female athletes

By: Rep. Buddy Carter

Georgia’s female athletes have two bad teammates, and they’re threatening to undo decades of progress towards affording women and girls fair opportunities to achieve athletic excellence.

That is how 73% of Georgians feel right now because of Senators Warnock and Ossoff’s ridiculous decision to support biological men competing in female sports.

In September 2022, South Carolina High School volleyball player Payton McNabb suffered an extreme brain and neck injury after being forced to compete against a biological man. For more than 30 seconds, Payton laid unconscious on the floor after absorbing a blow to the face from her male opponent. The fallout still impacts her to this day. In addition to a concussion, vision problems, and memory loss, she also developed partial paralysis of the right side of her body.

Quoting McNabb’s parents, in an instant “the child that [they] raised for 17 years, the child that [they] knew, [was] gone.”

Let me be clear: This was avoidable. The adults responsible for protecting Payton failed, and she paid a steep price for their ineptitude.

Stories like these could become commonplace on courts and fields across Georgia if we do not act quickly to protect women and girls in sports.

We are fortunate enough to stand on the shoulders of giants when it comes to preserving the sanctity of women’s athletics. The representatives who boldly championed Title IX did the heavy lifting; all they ask is that we maintain their progress. Republicans proudly did that by voting to pass the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act, and President Trump has done so by signing his executive order that biological men be kept out of women’s sports.

The Peach State has a storied history of incredible athletes both male and female. It has been my honor and privilege to represent some of them in Georgia’s First Congressional District. I am also a grandfather to several talented granddaughters. It would be shameful if we stood in the way of their success just to win points for wokeness.

This is not a fringe issue. 80% of all Americans oppose biological men in women’s sports. In true Washington Democrat fashion, the radical left is choosing to stand with the 20 on 80-20 issues. It’s no wonder that President Trump won every single swing state in the 2024 election; the Democrat Party’s policies are out-of-touch with where the majority of the American people are.

Georgians deserve senators who are responsive to their needs, not beholden to Washington’s liberal elites. We see this behavior time and again, whether it’s refusing to stand with their Jewish constituents out of fear of retribution from party bosses or threatening to shut down the government just to stick it to President Trump.

Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock have proven themselves to be bad teammates. When your teammate ignores your call for help in favor of their own self-interest, they do so to the detriment of the team.

We can’t allow what happened to Payton happen to any Georgia athlete. We must stand up for female athletes, not take opportunities away from them.

Did you know?

Zell Miller, born in Young Harris, Georgia, served the state as mayor, state senator, lieutenant governor, governor, and U.S. senator. His biggest legacy was creating the HOPE Scholarship. Though a lifelong Democrat, Miller famously backed Republican President George W. Bush in 2004, showing the independent streak he was known for in Georgia politics.