Purdue Employees Face Rising Drug Costs After PBM Switch to AffirmedRx

Purdue Employees See Rising Drug Costs After PBM Switch – September 2025

When Purdue University switched its pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) from CVS Caremark to AffirmedRx, employees expected more transparency and better pricing. Instead, many now report higher out-of-pocket costs and new financial barriers to accessing essential medications.

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A Costly Change for Employees

The change, approved by Purdue’s Board of Trustees in August 2024, reclassified more than 700 medications as “non-preventive.” The list includes common prescriptions such as antidepressants, asthma inhalers, and insulin pumps.

While Purdue says the change will improve cost transparency, many employees say it’s doing the opposite. Sean McKee, an assistant director in the College of Engineering, shared that his monthly insulin pump expenses have jumped from $50 to $425—a staggering increase for a lifelong diabetic.

“It’s creating a real financial barrier,” McKee said. “It’s negatively impacting people’s lives here.”

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When “Preventive” Becomes a Technicality

University administrators explained that “preventive medications” are those used to prevent serious illness. Because diabetes is an existing disease, tools like insulin pumps and glucose monitors no longer qualify as preventive under the new PBM rules.

To many employees, that reasoning makes little sense. “Taking insulin prevents serious complications,” said Caryn Morgan, an academic advisor at Purdue. “Calling it non-preventive feels backward.”

This new classification has forced staff to make difficult financial choices. Some now struggle to cover basic needs like food and housing while paying for their medications.

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The PBM Transparency Paradox

In a statement to employees, Purdue defended its decision, saying that AffirmedRx’s business model focuses on patients over profits and that it “negotiates drug prices at lower cost and passes the savings on.”

However, many staff members have yet to see those savings. Instead, they are experiencing the very opposite: higher deductibles, inconsistent classifications, and unpredictable pricing.

This highlights a broader issue across the U.S. healthcare system: PBM decisions directly affect patients, often with little oversight or input from those most affected.

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Why PBM Reform Matters

Stories like Purdue’s reflect why PBM reform is essential. These corporate middlemen decide which drugs are covered, at what cost, and through which pharmacies. Too often, those decisions prioritize profit over patient care.

At RescueMeds, we see this every day in the workers’ compensation space. Injured workers face similar delays, denials, and restrictions when PBMs or insurers interfere with access to care. Our mission is to remove those barriers by ensuring every patient—especially injured workers—receives timely medications at no cost to them.

We believe healthcare should never hinge on a technical classification or corporate decision. Patients deserve better.

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A Call for Accountability

As PBM reform efforts gain traction in states like Ohio and Maryland, Purdue’s experience adds another example of why greater transparency, regulation, and accountability are urgently needed.

When large institutions and employers make PBM changes without considering the real-world impact on patients, the result is predictable—higher costs and reduced access to care.

RescueMeds stands with patients, providers, and policymakers who are fighting for a fair, patient-first pharmacy system. Because no one should have to choose between medication and their livelihood.

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To read more about the FAQ and Purdue University’s comments, see the original article here.