Health Care

The NAM has long called for the comprehensive reform of pharmacy benefit managers, and on Thursday, Rep. Buddy Carter (R-GA) delivered for manufacturers.

What’s going on: Rep. Carter, along with a group of 11 bipartisan members of Congress, introduced the PBM Reform Act to curtail abusive practices by PBMs, which are underregulated middlemen that drive up health care costs for manufacturers and manufacturing workers.

• The NAM has been pressing hard for PBM reform for years.

What it would do: The PBM Reform Act consists of crucial PBM reforms that the NAM has long supported, including:

• Increasing transparency of PBM practices in employer-sponsored health insurance and Medicaid;
• Delinking PBMs’ compensation from prescription drug list prices in Medicare; and
• Banning spread pricing in Medicaid.

Why it’s important: “PBMs are middlemen that drive up health care costs and offer little value to the health care system,” said NAM Managing Vice President of Policy Charles Crain.

• “Small and medium-sized manufacturers are facing rising health care costs—and PBM reform will empower these businesses to offer competitive benefits to manufacturing workers. Manufacturers commend Rep. Carter for introducing legislation to enact much-needed PBM reforms, and we encourage Congress to take steps to curtail PBMs’ abusive practices.”