Latest news with #DelinkingRevenuefromUnfairGouging
Yahoo
21-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
D.C. Dispatch: Miller-Meeks, Grassley introduce bills on drug costs
Members of Iowa's congressional delegation proposed legislation aiming to address high prescription drug prices. (Photo illustration by Clark Kauffman/Iowa Capital Dispatch) Members of Iowa's congressional delegation have introduced legislation they say will help lower drug costs. U.S. Congress has largely not met this week, with most of the attention in national politics centering on President Donald Trump's moves to close the U.S. Department of Education and militarize a part of the U.S.-Mexico border. Still, Iowa's federal legislators introduced several measures this week, including proposals dealing with the cost of pharmaceuticals. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks reintroduced the Delinking Revenue from Unfair Gouging (DRUG) Act Tuesday, a bill focused on pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), the third-party businesses that negotiate prescription drug prices between drug manufacturers, health insurance companies and pharmacies. The Iowa representative also introduced the measure in 2o24. Miller-Meeks' proposal would require PBMs to charge a flat fee for their service in negotiating prices on a certain drug instead of charging using a percentage of the drug price. The current practice of charging based on a percentage of the drug's costs incentivizes PBMs to promote the use of higher-cost medicines, according to a news release from Miller-Meeks' office, which 'takes money away from patients.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX 'Pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) have excessive influence over the prices patients pay at the pharmacy counter,' Miller-Meeks said in a statement. 'Local Iowa pharmacies are closing due to greedy PBM practices, impacting proximity and access to medications for Iowans. The DRUG Act will put downward pressure on prescription drug prices and insurance premiums by removing the incentive for PBMs to drive up the list price of medications.' Many pharmacists have called for action to restrict certain business practices by PBMs, which they say are raising drug costs and limiting the ability to fill prescriptions. Iowa state lawmakers are also considering legislation that would place limits on some PBM actions. Miller-Meeks has advocated for Congress to ban certain PBM practices, like 'patient steering,' encouraging or requiring patients to use certain affiliated pharmacies instead of a pharmacy of their choice and 'spread pricing,' where a PBM charges a higher cost for a drug than what is reimbursed to the pharmacy — practices that are also a focus of the Iowa legislation. Charles Crain, managing vice president of policy of the advocacy group the National Association of Manufacturers, praised the legislation as a way to help manufacturing employers provide workers affordable health care coverage. 'PBMs increase health care costs by driving up prescription drug list prices, forcing patients to pay more at the pharmacy counter and making it more difficult for manufacturers to offer affordable health care benefits,' Crain said in a statement. 'Manufacturers commend Rep. Miller-Meeks and her colleagues for re-introducing the DRUG Act, which will rein in PBMs operating in the commercial market by removing their perverse incentive to maximize their own profits at the expense of manufacturers and manufacturing workers.' In the Senate, U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley co-introduced a bill that would attempt to stop pharmaceutical manufacturers from attempting to shut out competitors by 'product hopping.' 'Product hopping' refers to practices by some pharmaceutical companies to coercively move patients using a branded drug that has an expiring patent to a new patented drug in an effort to stop patients from moving to a generic version of the original product. According to a news release from Grassley, some manufacturers use tactics like destroying the inventory of their old product, raising its price or stating it is unsafe in attempts to discourage people from using the drug. 'Under this practice, it is difficult to switch patients to the cheaper generic when the market protections for the earlier drug expire,' the news release stated. 'This abuse of the patent system forces patients to continue paying high costs for a drug that is substantially similar to their old one for many years to come.' Grassley, alongside Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas, Richard Blumenthal, D-Connecticut and Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, introduced the 'Drug Competition Enhancement Act' Monday that would make product hopping' an antitrust violation. Companies engaging in this practice could face enforcement action from the Federal Trade Commission, including being brought to court. The Iowa Republican said the bipartisan measure would help bring down drug prices by preventing companies from engaging in anticompetitive practices. 'One of my top priorities in the Senate is reducing the cost of prescription drugs,' Grassley said. 'Our bill will bring much needed transparency to drug pricing by cracking down on product hopping and giving Iowans more access to lower-cost generic drugs.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Bipartisan bill seeks to stop pharmacy middlemen from driving up drug costs for financial gain
FIRST ON FOX: A bipartisan group of lawmakers is pushing to reform the incentive structure for Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs), arguing that it drives up patient costs by encouraging them to favor higher-priced drugs while withholding potential savings. Led by physician and GOP Iowa Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, the group introduced the "Delinking Revenue from Unfair Gouging (DRUG) Act" on Tuesday, requiring that PBMs in the commercial market only charge a flat fee for their services related to a specific prescription drug, versus letting them continue to charge a percentage of the drug price. PBMs are third-party intermediaries between insurance companies, drug manufacturers and pharmacies that serve to control drug prices and access. The current incentive structure for PBMs, according to the DRUG Act's sponsors, encourages them to drive up the list price of drugs to increase profits. "Pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) have excessive influence over the prices patients pay at the pharmacy counter," said Miller-Meeks. "Local Iowa pharmacies are closing due to greedy PBM practices, impacting proximity and access to medications for Iowans. The DRUG Act will put downward pressure on prescription drug prices and insurance premiums by removing the incentive for PBMs to drive up the list price of medications." I'm A Healthcare Ceo Who Has Fought Medication Middlemen. Then My Daughter's Condition Made It Personal. According to the Iowa Pharmacy Association, PBMs have been using opaque reimbursement models that often pay back pharmacies less than the list cost of a drug and the services provided to dispense it. Read On The Fox News App As a result of these practices, pharmacies in Iowa and across the country have been forced to close, the association said in a January report. Twenty-nine Iowa pharmacies and 2,300 pharmacies nationwide closed their doors in 2024, according to the association. While PBMs have played important roles in making drugs more widely available, through decades of mergers and acquisitions, the three largest PBMs now manage nearly 80% of all prescriptions filled in the U.S., according to a 2024 report from the Federal Trade Commission. California Exploiting Medicaid 'Loophole' To Pay Billions For Illegal Immigrants' Healthcare, Study Says The DRUG Act's reforms serve to address this anti-competitiveness, which the bill's sponsors say will also help lower costs. "Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) contribute to high drug costs because they are incentivized to steer patients towards drugs that are more profitable for PBMs, but may be less clinically effective for consumers," said Rep. Nannette Barragán, D-Calif., one of the bill's co-sponsors. "This broken system disproportionately harms low-income individuals, seniors, and those with chronic illnesses who rely on life-saving prescriptions to manage their health." Rep. Donald Norcross, D-N.J., another co-sponsor of the DRUG Act, said families in his district "are crying out for relief from high prescription drug prices." "Americans deserve access to quality health care and affordable prescription drugs," Norcross said. "The DRUG Act reins in prescription drug prices by removing the incentive for pharmacy benefit managers to drive up costs, increasing transparency and prioritizing patients over profits."Original article source: Bipartisan bill seeks to stop pharmacy middlemen from driving up drug costs for financial gain
Fox News
18-03-2025
- Business
- Fox News
Bipartisan bill seeks to stop pharmacy middlemen from driving up drug costs for financial gain
FIRST ON FOX: A bipartisan group of lawmakers is pushing to reform the incentive structure for Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs), arguing that it drives up patient costs by encouraging them to favor higher-priced drugs while withholding potential savings. Led by physician and GOP Iowa Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, the group introduced the "Delinking Revenue from Unfair Gouging (DRUG) Act" on Tuesday, requiring that PBMs in the commercial market only charge a flat fee for their services related to a specific prescription drug, versus letting them continue to charge a percentage of the drug price. PBMs are third-party intermediaries between insurance companies, drug manufacturers and pharmacies that serve to control drug prices and access. The current incentive structure for PBMs, according to the DRUG Act's sponsors, encourages them to drive up the list price of drugs to increase profits. "Pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) have excessive influence over the prices patients pay at the pharmacy counter," said Miller-Meeks. "Local Iowa pharmacies are closing due to greedy PBM practices, impacting proximity and access to medications for Iowans. The DRUG Act will put downward pressure on prescription drug prices and insurance premiums by removing the incentive for PBMs to drive up the list price of medications." According to the Iowa Pharmacy Association, PBMs have been using opaque reimbursement models that often pay back pharmacies less than the list cost of a drug and the services provided to dispense it. As a result of these practices, pharmacies in Iowa and across the country have been forced to close, the association said in a January report. Twenty-nine Iowa pharmacies and 2,300 pharmacies nationwide closed their doors in 2024, according to the association. While PBMs have played important roles in making drugs more widely available, through decades of mergers and acquisitions, the three largest PBMs now manage nearly 80% of all prescriptions filled in the U.S., according to a 2024 report from the Federal Trade Commission. The DRUG Act's reforms serve to address this anti-competitiveness, which the bill's sponsors say will also help lower costs. "Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) contribute to high drug costs because they are incentivized to steer patients towards drugs that are more profitable for PBMs, but may be less clinically effective for consumers," said Rep. Nannette Barragán, D-Calif., one of the bill's co-sponsors. "This broken system disproportionately harms low-income individuals, seniors, and those with chronic illnesses who rely on life-saving prescriptions to manage their health." Rep. Donald Norcross, D-N.J., another co-sponsor of the DRUG Act, said families in his district "are crying out for relief from high prescription drug prices." "Americans deserve access to quality health care and affordable prescription drugs," Norcross said. "The DRUG Act reins in prescription drug prices by removing the incentive for pharmacy benefit managers to drive up costs, increasing transparency and prioritizing patients over profits."
