PBM Accountability Project Statement on Senate HELP Committee Hearing on Healthcare Affordability

The Senate HELP Committee today held a hearing entitled, “Making Health Care Affordable: Solutions to Lower Costs and Empower Patients.” Mark Blum, managing director of the PBM Accountability Project, issued the following statement:

“We are encouraged that the Committee recognizes the need to lower healthcare costs for Americans. One of the most actionable, obvious and widely supported ways to do so is by reforming the opaque and self-serving practices of PBMs. We were also pleased that several Senators and witnesses brought attention to PBMs’ excessive influence over Americans’ access to affordable treatments and lack of transparency in the prescription drug marketplace. Throughout the hearing, members on both sides of the aisle underscored the bipartisan support for commonsense reforms. Several meaningful PBM reforms have been introduced in Congress already this year, including measures to delink PBM compensation from drug list prices, ensure the full pass-through of rebates and discounts to patients, and curb patient steering practices that put profits ahead of patient care.

“Today’s discussion was one that we have heard several times before and makes clear: Americans want action now. Thankfully, PBM reforms have been introduced in the House. We urge Congress to seize this historic opportunity and swiftly advance robust meaningful reforms bringing transparency, accountability and fairness to a system that millions of patients depend on.”

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