The bane of oncologists and their patients are the middleman companies in the pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) industry. Empowered ostensibly to reduce exorbitantly high drug costs, the oligopoly of rich, vertically integrated companies frequently delay and deny care to cancer patients, jeopardizing their health and undermining their oncologists.

The Community Oncology Alliance (COA) had us shed light on their dubious practices to stimulate interest in reform in Washington.

The news media was receptive to the message of PBMs playing doctor without a medical license.

We mined COA practices for doctor and patient stories to dramatize the scandal based on our methods resulting in a flurry of coverage in outlets ranging from The Atlantic, to The Fresno Bee to Medscape Medical News, to the New Orleans Time Picayune to Marketplace, to The Doctors.

The PBMs continue exercising every delaying tactic in their arsenal, but now at least Congress has gotten the message.