PBM Association Says Congress Should Look to Manufacturers to Control High Drug Prices

The industry association representing pharmacy benefit managers (PBM) has fired back at the introduction of a Senate bill that would curtail their revenue based on the price of the drugs they manage, pointing the finger instead at drug companies that set high prices.

Calling on Congress to “hold drug companies accountable for egregious exploitation of pricing power and patent abuses that keep prices high,” the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA) explained that PBMs’ services actually result in savings.

“Unlike big drug companies, pharmacy benefit companies are compensated based on how effectively they secure savings for employers, patients and taxpayers — serving as the only real check against drug companies’ otherwise unlimited pricing power,” the PCMA said in a statement.

The association is reacting to the Patients Before Middlemen Act, a bill introduced by a bipartisan group of senators on Wednesday that focuses on PBM contracts for Medicare Part D, which covers drugs for Medicare beneficiaries.

The proposed act prohibits PBM compensation for Part D services based on the price of a drug and creates an enforcement mechanism requiring PBMs to pay the government any amount in excess of designated service fees.

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