The National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) has sent a letter to leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate asking them to pass pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) reform this year.
In all, 134 organizations — representing patient advocacy groups, health-care providers, employers, business groups and union workers — signed the Sept. 8 letter addressed to Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-La.), House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.), and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.).
The letter urges “swift passage of the pharmacy benefit manager reforms to reduce Americans’ prescription drug costs and protect patients and their local pharmacies across the United States.”
The NCPA said the bipartisan, bicameral PBM reforms are estimated to save nearly $5 billion and “were agreed on in negotiations over the December 2024 continuing resolution and had been approved by the committees of jurisdiction.”
In the current Congress, “these reforms have been reintroduced in one legislative package in the House as H.R. 4317, the PBM Reform Act, and two companion measures in the Senate as S. 927, the Protecting Pharmacies in Medicaid Act, and as S. 882, the Patients Before Middlemen Act,” the letter added. “This legislation includes policies that would lower drug costs by delinking drug prices from PBM revenues, mandating the negotiated savings go to employers, workers and their families; would save significant taxpayer dollars by banning spread pricing in Medicaid; would support pharmacies’ ability to serve patients by enforcing reasonable and relevant contracts in Medicare Part D; and would shine a light on PBM practices by requiring transparency from the corporations that have persistently resisted it.”
The goal of addressing “anti-competitive, anti-consumer practices,” the NCPA said, “received overwhelming support in both parties and in both chambers of Congress.
“By enacting these measures, you can deliver relief to patients and families at their local pharmacy counter, employers facing continued increases in health-care costs, and taxpayers who are currently overpaying for government-provided benefit programs.”
The NCPA pointed out that though the Federal Trade Commission reported that PBMs generated more than $7.3 billion in revenue from 2017 to 2022, “nearly one in three retail pharmacies have closed since 2010, with more closure notices coming every day.”
The letter urged Congress to take immediate action to protect pharmacies and patients.
“Pharmacists are some of the most accessible and trusted health-care professionals in America, with patients — particularly in rural and underserved communities — reliant on their training and expertise,” the letter said. “We urge you to prioritize PBM reform this fall and ensure these bipartisan efforts are enacted into law without delay.”
In addition to the NCPA, organizations signing onto the letter included AIDS Healthcare Foundation, American Independent Business Alliance, American Pharmacists Association, Caregiver Action Network, Coalition of State Rheumatology Organizations, Community Oncology Alliance, Diabetes Leadership Council, International Cancer Advocacy Network, Infusion Access Foundation, International Union of Bricklayers and Allies Craftworkers, National Association of Chain Drug Stores, National Infusion Center Association, and United Food & Commercial Workers.
