Home Article NCPA backs bill on PBM reform

NCPA backs bill on PBM reform

By HME News Staff

Updated 10:05 AM CDT, Tue April 20, 2021

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – The National Community Pharmacists Association supports legislation that would give seniors more convenient access to discounted or “preferred” co-pays for prescription drugs at their pharmacy of choice. H.R. 2608, the Ensuring Seniors Access to Local Pharmacies Act, would also empower more seniors to choose the pharmacy that best fits their needs, promote transparency so that pharmacies have a clear understanding of their reimbursement, and tackle conflicts of interest related to “patient steering” by pharmacy benefit managers to pharmacies affiliated with them. “Patients deserve easier access to affordable, quality and convenient care at the pharmacy of their choosing, without PBM roadblocks that our health care system currently tolerates,” said B. Douglas Hoey, CEO of the NCPA. “Independent pharmacies have never been more essential to their communities than during the pandemic. Without reforms and relief from PBM practices, however, these small businesses may not survive.” Original co-sponsors of the bill include Reps. Rick Allen, R-Ga., Cindy Axne, D-Iowa, Buddy Carter, R-Ga., Rick Crawford, R-Ark., Vincente Gonzalez, D-Texas, Dutch Ruppersberger, D-Md., and Bruce Westerman, R-Ark. Additionally, the bill would require claims-level reimbursement transparency and prevent PBMs from reimbursing their affiliated pharmacies more than they do other pharmacies.