Letters for Aug. 21, 2023

Belief even in the face of facts

It is true that humans tend to believe what they want to believe, even in the face of facts. So we shouldn’t be surprised or bewildered when a large minority of our fellow Americans still believe that the election was stolen, even though there is no proof of that. Or that there is some massive conspiracy to keep the former president from again ascending the throne. Just blind belief. Maybe the high schools should put more emphasis on teaching critical thinking skills.

David Allen

Liberty Lake

Pharmacy benefit manager reform needed

When Congress returns from their August recess – passing legislation to reform pharmacy benefit managers should be at the top of their priority list.

Pharmacy benefit managers are health care middlemen working with insurance companies to acquire rebates and discounts on medications. PBMs are meant to use these extra savings to lower patients’ out-of-pocket costs at the pharmacy, but they ultimately keep these deals for their own profit gains, which can prevent patients from accessing critical medications. They also use their power over the drug market to control what pharmacies we can pick up our medications at, regardless of convenience. Not everyone has time or patience to handle such an unpredictable health care system. That is why Congress should work to pass legislation like the DRUG Act, which seeks to regulate these health care middlemen.

I hope Sens. Murray and Cantwell sign onto this bill, and help patients access the care they need without strain from PBMs.

Carolyn Williams

Spokane