Washington, DC – The National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) is keeping up the pressure on the urgent need for pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) reform at the federal level. In a statement for a U.S. House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Administrative State, Regulatory Reform, and Antitrust hearing today on the role of PBM middlemen, NACDS urged that the PBM reforms in Medicare, Medicaid and the commercial market — which now enjoy bipartisan and bicameral consensus — must be considered “must-pass” legislation in the 118th Congress. These needed reforms would help confront the anticompetitive and predatory PBM tactics that harm Americans, pharmacies, taxpayers, employers and communities. NACDS said in the September 11 comment letter, “Every day that is allowed to pass without comprehensive PBM reform is another day that market-dominant PBMs are allowed to sustain and worsen their tactics. This year, the situation has deteriorated further. Pharmacies are experiencing rapidly decreasing Medicare Part D pharmacy reimbursements that are taking many pharmacies even further below cost for the prescriptions that they fill every day. This untenable situation of decreasing reimbursement, combined with lingering pharmacy direct and indirect remuneration (DIR) fees, is putting patient access and pharmacies in jeopardy.” NACDS continued, saying, “Pharmacies and pharmacists are firmly united across all practice settings on next steps for bipartisan and bicameral PBM reform to help curb the middlemen’s pharmaceutical benefit manipulation. It is past time for action. “NACDS and collaborating pharmacy organizations have worked together to call attention to needed reforms. While we understand that the breadth of these reforms may extend outside this Subcommittee’s jurisdiction, it is vitally important for Congress to hear consistently what is needed and expected to protect Americans and their pharmacies.” READ THE FULL STATEMENT
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