Congress in Agreement: Hearings Reveal How Insurance Middlemen Inflate Drug Prices

The House Energy and Commerce and House Ways and Means Committees recently held hearings on the rising cost of healthcare, shining a spotlight on how PBMs and insurers are driving out-of-pocket costs for prescriptions and why reform is urgently needed.  

Members from both parties agree that PBMs and other insurance middlemen are limiting access and raising costs. As Chairman Morgan Griffith (R-VA) emphasized in his opening remarks the lack of transparency and complexity of the system makes patients feel like they are paying more for less. 

Rep. Erin Houchin (R-IN) highlighted how PBM-created group purchasing organizations (GPOs) add yet another complexity layer to the system, explaining, “GPOs were created by the largest PBMs and have added yet another layer of complexity to the prescription drug supply chain, making it even more opaque. Two of the three largest PBMs have established their GPOs overseas, which you have confirmed, while continuing to claim that rebates and fees are being negotiated on behalf of plan sponsors and patients.” 

Watch our highlight reel to see the continued bipartisan agreement that insurance middlemen are inflating costs at the pharmacy counter and that Congress must act. 

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