Amid complaints of calls going unanswered and taxpayers left hanging, one would think the brain trust at the IRS would be doubling down on customer service.
But this is government, after all, and the government class has other priorities.
Instead, the National Treasury Employees Union its putting its muscle behind a bill to secure cheaper prescription drugs for federal employees.
The union representing IRS employees says via a press release:
The National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) strongly supports a bill introduced by Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.), which would lower the costs of prescription drugs and cut premiums for workers and retirees covered by the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP).
Under current law, FEHBP health plans contract directly with pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) who operate as middlemen to negotiate prescription drug prices with drug companies and pharmacies on behalf of individual plans. While the purpose of contracting with PBMs was to control drug costs, there is little evidence this approach has been effective, said NTEU National President Colleen M. Kelley.
H.R. 2175, the FEHBP Prescription Drug Oversight & Cost Savings Act, would reform FEHBP drug-pricing and contracting requirements, provide the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) with enhanced oversight and contracting authority and require PBMs to return any rebates, incentives or discounts from drug manufacturers to FEHBP.
“Congressman Lynch’s bill is a step in the right direction to enacting better controls over drug spending in FEHBP, and to reducing costs for federal employees and retirees,” according to Kelley.
“Reducing costs for federal employees” of course means a higher costs for taxpayers.
The very same taxpayers who waited an average of more than 30 minutes on the phone to reach an agent.
Leave a Comment
COMMENTS POLICY: We have no tolerance for messages of violence, racism, vulgarity, obscenity or other such discourteous behavior. Thank you for contributing to a respectful and useful online dialogue.