Although many concerning prescription drug affordability have been targeted on producers and well being plans, pharmacy profit managers (“PBMs”) are additionally the main target of elevated consideration from federal policymakers and companies.

As a result of the most important PBMs are sometimes vertically built-in with suppliers, specialty pharmacies and/or prescription drug plan sponsors, different entities within the healthcare business have attributed elevated drug prices to PBMs’ market shares and the that PBMs use to barter costs. Nonetheless, varied research have discovered that PBMs “” in prescription markets and redistribute financial savings from producers and pharmacies to plan beneficiaries, by fueling competitors that lowers retail and manufacturing costs. In 2019, the  and the Division of Well being and Human Providers  (“HHS OIG”) launched studies discovering that PBM-negotiated rebates decrease prescription drug prices for Medicare Half D. Additional, PBMs encourage drug innovation and generate financial savings on specialty drugs, and they’re anticipated to  plan sponsors and customers greater than $1 trillion from 2020 to 2029.

On March 1, 2023, the Home Committee on Oversight and Accountability into PBM practices. Chairman James Comer acknowledged that federal companies administering well being care packages for seniors, active-duty army, and federal staff are counting on PBMs as middlemen to set drug costs, which might open the door to authorities waste. The press launch for the investigation additionally cited to the Committee Republicans’ , which discovered that giant PBM consolidation has compelled producers to boost their costs, and created conflicts of curiosity which distort the market and restrict prime quality look after sufferers.

In furtherance of the investigation, Chairman Comer has despatched requests for info to the Workplace of Personnel Administration, the Facilities for Medicare and Medicaid Providers (“CMS”), the Protection Well being Company, and several other PBMs. Noting that CMS oversees the most important federal contracts with PBMs by means of the Medicare and Medicaid packages, Chairman Comer has requested CMS to offer info concerning the next:

• The accounting of rebates, charges, or different related costs acquired by PBMs associated to the Medicare or Medicaid program;
• All contracts between CMS and PBMs;
• All paperwork and communications associated to oversight by CMS of PBM implementation and execution of Medicare or Medicaid contracts; and
• All paperwork and communications associated to the recoupment of funds made improperly to PBMs inside the Medicare or Medicaid packages.

The Senate can be investigating PBM practices: On February 16, 2023, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation convened a on “Bringing Transparency and Accountability to Pharmacy Profit Managers,” wherein the Committee Chair Maria Cantwell related issues. She additionally emphasised the necessity for structural reforms, such because the bipartisan , Pharmacy Profit Supervisor Transparency Act of 2023, which was launched by Chair Cantwell and Senator Chuck Grassley on January 27, 2023.

These efforts by federal policymakers to extend oversight of PBMs add gas to current fires: Final yr, the Federal Commerce Fee (“FTC”) into the PBM business, in search of info on the aggressive impression of the contracting and enterprise practices of the six largest PBMs. The FTC has requested info on varied matters together with: pharmacy reimbursement knowledge, pharmacy community contracts and administration, charges and claw-backs charged to pharmacies, drug formulary exclusions, insurance policies for specialty and mail-order pharmacies, rebate contracts, audits of pharmacies, and any ancillary service agreements. The FTC additionally launched a indicating its intent to behave “expeditiously” to scrutinize PBM practices that violate the FTC Act, the Clayton Act, the Robinson-Patman Act, or the Sherman Act.

Moreover, the OIG introduced its a report on whether or not States present ample oversight of Medicaid MCOs to make sure accountability over quantities paid for prescription drug advantages to PBMs.

In the meantime, state legislatures varied legal guidelines to additional regulate PBMs, equivalent to requiring clear communication about drug value info to sufferers; prohibiting discrimination towards 340B entities; prohibiting PBMs from altering their drug formularies throughout the yr; requiring registration with state insurance coverage commissions; imposing sure necessities for generics and biosimilars on formulary exclusion lists, and permitting state entities to audit and evaluation PBM practices.

and have supported efforts to intensify oversight of PBMs. In the meantime, argue that the proposed federal laws would each present for an egregious growth of the FTC’s authority and put in danger the financial savings that PBMs safe for well being plans and sufferers.

We’ll proceed to watch and supply updates on these developments.