U.S. Senator James Lankford said new federal law provisions aimed at pharmacy benefit managers will increase transparency and help lower prescription drug costs for patients.
The changes were included in the latest federal funding package signed into law and focus on how pharmacy benefit managers, often called PBMs, negotiate prices and fees within the prescription drug system.
“For too long, Americans have watched prescription drug costs climb while middlemen in the system take an outsized cut of what should be saving patients money,” Lankford said, calling the new requirements a step toward greater accountability and lower costs at the pharmacy counter.
The law includes pieces of several long-standing bills backed by Lankford. One measure strengthens Medicare’s “any willing pharmacy” requirements, aimed at ensuring local pharmacies can participate in prescription drug networks under fair contract terms.
Another provision increases PBM transparency and limits how PBMs are paid. Under the new rules, PBM compensation tied to the price of a drug, rebates, or discounts is restricted. PBMs that collect more than allowed service fees could be required to return excess amounts to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The legislation also directs the Government Accountability Office to study how financial incentives across drug manufacturers, PBMs, insurers, and pharmacies affect drug prices, taxpayer spending, and patient out of pocket costs.
Lankford said additional reforms are still needed but described the new law as a significant step toward reining in industry middlemen and improving access to affordable prescription drugs.
