April 20, 2023
Washington DC –Ranked members of the Senate Finance Committee Mike Crapo (Republican, Idaho) and Chairman Ron Wyden (Democrat, Oregon) are calling for a plan to modernize and strengthen the federal prescription drug program, with the goal of reducing drug costs. announced a bipartisan framework that the Commission will use to pursue legislative solutions to for patients and taxpayers.
“Some of the most life-saving drugs remain out of reach for too many working families and the elderly. Clapo said“We are a bipartisan all-rounder for modernization and transparency that empowers consumers, plans, providers and pharmacies to make informed, cost-effective and clinically relevant decisions. I would like to thank Senator Wyden for working with me to identify ways to improve access and affordability to prescription drugs, and I look forward to working with my colleagues on consensus-based solutions. I look forward to discussing the possibilities.”
“For years, drug pricing intermediaries like pharmacy profit managers have been implicated in practices that drive up the cost of prescription drugs and disrupt American families at pharmacy counters.” Wyden said“The Finance Committee is responsible for federal health programs that spend billions of dollars each year on prescription drugs, and provides benefits to seniors, working families, and taxpayers to strengthen those programs and make them what they are today. We have a responsibility to make sure the healthcare system is kept up to date and updated.I am bipartisan and look forward to drafting a bill this summer.This bill will end the worst practices by drug pricing intermediaries. “It’s about taking the lead and ensuring that the prescription drug supply chain is pulled in the same direction: more competition for patients and taxpayers and lower drug costs.”
The framework, following a Finance Committee hearing last month, examined pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) practices and their impact on costs to patients and taxpayers. The document outlines his four major challenges facing federal prescription drug programs today:
- Inappropriate incentives driving up prices and costs
- Inadequate transparency that distorts the market
- Hurdles in accessing pharmacies
- Behind-the-scenes practices that stifle competition and drive up costs
The framework also identifies potential policy solutions to address challenges such as:
- Decoupling PBM rewards from drug prices to align lower-cost incentives
- Increase PBM accountability to health insurance clients to foster cost-cutting competition and provide better options for beneficiaries
- Ensure discounts negotiated by PBM result in meaningful savings for seniors
- Address and mitigate practices that unfairly inflate the prices patients and government programs pay for prescription drugs
- Modernize Medicare’s “Any Willing Pharmacy” requirement to improve choice and access for older people
- Increase transparency to better understand how financial flows across the prescription drug supply chain affect government health care programs.
View full document here.
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