The National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) is urging Congress to pass new legislation that would reform the way pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) operate.
The PBM Price Transparency and Accountability Act — introduced Dec. 4 by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and ranking member Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) “would finally require accountability of pharmacy benefit managers that are systematically raising drug prices for patients and causing pharmacy deserts to expand,” the NCPA said in a Dec. 4 announcement.
“One key reform would ensure that independent pharmacies receive a fair and transparent reimbursement under state Medicaid managed care programs,” the announcement said. “Another would require the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to define and enforce ‘reasonable and relevant’ Medicare part D contract terms, including those related to reimbursements.”
A Dec. 4 announcement from the Senate Finance Committee said the bill seeks to “delink PBM compensation from their negotiated rebates to disincentivize PBMs from promoting higher-priced medications; increase PBM reporting requirements to Medicare part D plan sponsors and to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services and empower part D plan sponsors to audit their PBM for compliance with contract requirements; and reinforce existing requirements that plan sponsors contract with any willing pharmacy that meets their standard contract terms and conditions to better protect independent pharmacies in rural areas from practices that have contributed to widespread closures,” among other changes.
“We would like to thank Chairman Crapo and Ranking Member Wyden for their hard work and steady support for these reforms,” said NCPA CEO B. Douglas Hoey. “The president and Congress have expressed a strong interest in bringing down drug costs, and these reforms are the most comprehensive and substantive way to make progress toward achieving that goal.
“NCPA urges Congress and the president to pass this legislation and sign it into law. The PBMs and insurance conglomerates are driving up drug costs, crushing small-business pharmacies, and creating pharmacy deserts. There is wide bipartisan support for these reforms, so there are no excuses for letting another year slip by without passing them.”
