health care reform roundtable recap

September 6, 2025

On Wednesday, I hosted a health care reform roundtable in Atlanta with Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairman Andrew Ferguson to discuss how reining in Pharmacy Benefit Managers, or PBMs, will drive competition and lower costs for patients; patients like a fellow Georgian, Ms. Susan Davis. Ms. Davis and her son were diagnosed with a mitochondrial disease. Their PBM denied her son access to a lifesaving drug that he had been on for years.

Let me be clear: PBMs’ greed made her son sicker. While tragic, this story is far from unique.

So, how did we get here?

PBMs are the pharmaceutical supply chain’s hidden middlemen that are driving up costs for prescription medications, delaying access to necessary treatments, adding hoops for patients to jump through, and robbing hope from patients.

After nearly two decades of consolidation, the PBM industry is now dominated by three companies that control over 80% of the market. They own or are owned by insurers and have vertically and horizontally consolidated their businesses to own doctors, pharmacies, group purchasing organizations, and more. We have heard directly from our constituents that the harmful and anticompetitive tactics of some PBMs have only gotten worse, and that Congressional action is desperately needed.

We’ve heard a constant stream of reports that some PBMs are reimbursing independent pharmacies less than the pharmacies they own. For example, a recent audit revealed that Optum pays its own stores up to 22 times what it pays independent pharmacies for the same drug. How are you supposed to stay in business when your competitor makes 2,200 percent more than you for the same exact service? The answer is you don’t. Nearly one in three retail pharmacies has closed since 2010, resulting in 3,250 fewer retail pharmacies in 2024 compared to four years ago.

Pharmacists are among the most accessible and highly trusted health care professionals. Yet, PBMs are putting pharmacies out of business and removing patients’ access to care. We now have “pharmacy deserts” in rural and underserved communities. That’s affecting the accessibility, affordability, and quality of health care for all Americans. Thankfully, President Trump is committed to holding PBMs accountable. I commend him and look forward to working with this administration to drive solutions that lower costs for patients at the drug counter.

That’s why I introduced the PBM Reform Act, which protects patients and pharmacies from the harmful and anticompetitive business practices of pharmacy benefit managers. It’s time to bust up the PBM monopoly, which has been stealing hope and health from patients for decades. As a pharmacist, I’ve seen how PBMs abuse patients firsthand, and believe that the cure to this infectious disease is transparency, competition, and accountability, which is exactly what this bipartisan package provides.

Wednesday’s roundtable was a powerful reminder of the challenges patients and community pharmacies face. I look forward to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to enact these meaningful PBM reforms for patients, like Ms. Davis, who are suffering at the expense of PBMs’ abusive tactics.

Buddy’s briefing

On this week’s edition of Buddy’s Briefing, we discuss the Abbey Gate tragedy, which took place on August 26, 2021, in Kabul, Afghanistan. 13 brave soldiers lost their lives along with over 100 civilians during the Biden Administration’s disastrous withdrawal.

from our nation’s capitol cdxcxxxI

Monday, August 25, 2025: On Saturday, I was in Woodstock in Cherokee County, north of Atlanta, as I was honored to speak to the Cherokee County Republican Club at their headquarters, which is one of the nicest in the state. Incorporated as a town by the Georgia General Assembly in 1897, Woodstock derives its name from Woodstock, an 1826 novel by Walter Scott. Cherokee County was named after the Cherokee people who lived in the area around 1831 when the county was created by the Georgia General Assembly. Later in the day, I headed to Monroe, located in Walton County east of Atlanta, where I attended the 10^th District Barbecue Bash. There are 14 Congressional Districts in the state of Georgia, and the 10^th District includes a swath of urban and rural territory between Atlanta and Augusta, including all or parts of 20 counties. Founded in 1818 as the seat of the newly formed Walton County, Monroe was a major cotton producer in the state during the 1900s. After traveling back to St. Simons Island yesterday morning, I have a great meeting with a pharmaceutical company executive whose company provides patients with a straightforward method to properly dispose of their unused controlled medications. I’m in Savannah today as I spend the day meeting with constituents.

Rep. Carter on Fox 5

Tuesday, August 26, 2025: After flying to Atlanta early this morning, I head to Briarcliff Pharmacy in Northeast Atlanta, where, along with pharmacy owner Dr. Jonathan Marquess and pharmacists from across the state, we meet with Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairman Andrew Ferguson, who is visiting the Atlanta area. After years of requests from myself and community pharmacists, the FTC initiated an investigation into drug costs and pharmacy operations by pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs). Chairman Ferguson’s visit to the pharmacy today is to hear firsthand from practicing pharmacists about the egregious practices of the PBMs. Later, I travel to downtown Atlanta, where I host a PBM roundtable with Chairman Ferguson, his staff, and other stakeholders, including the CEO of a Georgia-based pharmaceutical company, the incoming Chair of the Georgia Association of Family Practices (GAFP), pharmacy owner Dr. Jonathan Marquess, and a patient advocate who shares with us her own nightmare experiences with PBMs. After hearing from the panel, the roundtable is opened to questions and comments from the audience, as many share their personal stories regarding their horrific experiences with PBMs. After a great meeting, I join in on our all staff conference call and later, travel to the Greater North Fulton Elected Officials reception in Alpharetta in Fulton County before heading to a nearby meeting at the Life Sciences summit being held here this week.

Rep. Carter at the PBM Roundtable

Wednesday, August 27, 2025: Before heading back to the Life Sciences summit in Alpharetta, I film this week’s edition of Buddy’s Briefing as well as a welcome message to a group meeting in our district this week. Once in Alpharetta, I am honored to participate on a panel during the Life Sciences Summit. The panel covers the subject matter of navigating the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Interactions for Early Stage Biotechs. Along with other expert panel members, including the head of regulatory affairs for UCB, a global pharmaceutical company, we discuss the trends and issues in medical technology and devices and the exciting science at Georgia’s great universities. Next, I head to downtown Atlanta and the offices of the Atlanta Journal Constitution, where I am their special guest on the podcast Politically Georgia.

Rep. Carter speaks at Georgia Life Sciences summit

Friday, August 29, 2025: After an early morning radio interview with my good friend, Scott Ryfun, on his show StraightTalk where we discuss news of the day, I join in on a conference call with my Chief of Staff and District Director before having a virtual interview with One America News (OAN) where we discuss the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) and our upcoming priorities in Congress once we get back from the August recess. Afterwards, I have a virtual interview with WSAV TV in Savannah, where we discuss National Guard troops being deployed in Washington, DC, and other crime ridden cities in our Country.

Rep. Carter films Buddy’s Briefing 294

icymi: Rep. Carter: Trump, Skorea powering a southern economic revival

Rep. Carter: Trump, SKorea Powering a Southern Economic Revival

Just two weeks ago, South Korea and the United States agreed to a sweeping bilateral trade agreement that will offer certainty to Korean companies looking to invest in the United States while offering new markets for American exports.

President Donald Trump and South Korean President Lee Jae-myung are to be commended for putting the deal together, a deal that is especially remarkable considering President Lee was only elected on June 3 and had less than 60 days to assemble a government and dispatch a trade envoy to Washington, D.C.

Indeed, it speaks volumes about the importance of the U.S.-Korea relationship that has benefited both countries for decades. It also shows that President Trump has a unique and keen understanding of the role South Korea plays and will continue to play in our nation’s economic development.

Largely flying under the radar in national headlines, South Korea has invested over $160 billion in the United States since Trump was first elected. That investment has helped generate nearly one million new jobs with an impressive average salary of $106,000. And the momentum is only accelerating.

In March, the South Korean automotive company, Hyundai Motor Group, announced a monumental $21 billion investment in the United States, including a $5.8 billion steel plant in Louisiana that will employ 1,400 workers.

This facility will supply steel for Hyundai’s cutting-edge $7.6 billion Metaplant in Bryan County, Georgia, which began operations six months earlier. Once fully operational, the plant will produce 500,000 electric and hybrid vehicles annually for Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis brands ― marking the largest single economic development project in Georgia’s history.

These projects are part of Hyundai’s $12.6 billion investment in Georgia and the $20.5 billion they’ve spent nationwide since entering the U.S. market, resulting in more than 570,000 American jobs.

The Bryan County plant is Hyundai’s second major investment in Georgia. It comes a little more than 15 years after the Kia facility in West Point, Georgia, opened its doors.

At that facility, Georgians proudly build 350,000 vehicles annually.

These vehicles are exported to countries globally, including Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, the Mideast, and Pacific nations.

You can read the full article here.

did you know?

The biggest industry in Georgia is Agribusiness, which generates over $74 billion in annual revenue and contributes over $11 billion to the state’s economy. Georgia is the leading producer of broilers (chickens raised for meat), peanuts, pecans, and blueberries. The state is also a major producer of high-quality peaches, so Georgia received its well-known “Peach State” nickname in the 18th century. As a result, Georgia hosts an annual Peach Festival where a variety of peach dishes are on display.