Representatives Mariannette Miller-Meeks (IA-01), Deborah Ross (NC-02), Earl L. “Buddy” Carter (GA-01) and Scott Peters (CA-50) have introduced bipartisan legislation to help seniors with chronic conditions better afford their medications. The Share the Savings for Seniors Act will require pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs, to pass negotiated discounts on prescription medications along to patients by reducing patients’ out-of-pocket prescription drug costs, rather than allowing PBMs to keep negotiated discounts as profits.
The recently introduced legislation is the House companion to Senate Bill S 274, introduced by Senators John Cornyn (R-TX), Tom Carper (D-DE), Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH).
Mark Blum, managing director of the PBM Accountability Project, issued the following statement:
“This commonsense legislation will help directly lower out-of-pocket costs for seniors by requiring big health insurance corporation middlemen – PBMs – to pass along drug discounts to patients. Although PBMs currently negotiate discounts well below the list price of prescription drugs, they have little incentive to pass these savings on to their plan sponsor clients or patients. Instead, they divert savings to their own accounts through a variety of price-manipulation schemes. As the recent GAO report pointed out, this results in seniors with chronic conditions often facing high costs at the pharmacy counter for medications they need to lead longer, healthier lives.
“We are encouraged to see Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle working to ensure PBMs can no longer take advantage of our drug pricing system in order to profit at the expense of patients. We have always believed that Congress has both a responsibility and an opportunity to eliminate PBMs’ perverse incentives to raise, rather than lower, prescription drug prices. This legislation is a step forward and will directly benefit patients. We commend Representatives Miller-Meeks, Ross, Carter and Peters for their leadership on this important issue.
“Stated simply, we must address the games PBMs play at the expense of seniors. Congress should pass meaningful reforms this year to ensure all patients and families can afford the medications they need.”
To learn more about the PBM issue and legislative solutions, visit pbmaccountability.org.
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