Crapo, Wyden Introduce Bipartisan Pharmacy Benefit Manager Legislation

Washington, D.C.—U.S. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) today introduced the Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) Price Transparency and Accountability Actto fix market distortions and increase transparency in federal prescription drug programs to lower patient costs at the pharmacy counter.
“Pharmacy benefit managers should not profit from overcharging patients for their prescriptions,”said Crapo. “This bipartisan legislation is a decisive step toward making the prescription drug market easier to navigate for both patients and pharmacies. These proposals form a strong foundation for additional efforts to promote pharmacy access, demystify drug pricing and reduce costs for both taxpayers and seniors.”
“It’s long past time to go after middlemen who are making Americans’ prescription drugs more expensive,”Wyden said.“The Finance Committee has put forward a comprehensive approach to stop the pharmacy benefit manager business practices that are harming seniors and taxpayers who count on Medicare to deliver affordable prescription drugs. It’s time to get this done.”
The PBM Price Transparency and Accountability Act would:
Senators John Barrasso (R-Wyoming), Michael Bennet (D-Colorado), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tennessee), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nevada), Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana), Maggie Hassan (D-New Hampshire), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Ben Ray Luján (D-New Mexico), Steve Daines (R-Montana), Tina Smith (D-Minnesota), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Mark Warner (D-Virginia), James Lankford (R-Oklahoma), Raphael Warnock (D-Georgia), Roger Marshall (R-Kansas), Peter Welch (D-Vermont), John Thune (R-South Dakota), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-Rhode Island) and Thom Tillis (R-North Carolina) co-sponsored the PBM Price Transparency and Accountability Act.
The legislative text can be foundHERE.
###