AAM applauds passage of PBM reform but calls for more

WASHINGTON — The Association for Accessible Medicines today praised the passage of Q1/Q2 legislation as part of the FY2026 funding bill and urged Congress to take further steps to reform PBMs. Q1/Q2 will reduce bureaucracy, save the U.S. healthcare system over one billion dollars, and deliver lower-cost medicines to patients more quickly. AAM also applauded Congress for enacting initial PBM reforms but urges stronger, more comprehensive measures to control PBM practices.

Congress passes PBM reform as part of spending package

The legislation now goes to the White House, where President Trump is expected to sign it into law.

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“AAM applauds Congress for passing Q1/Q2 which removes red tape and expedites the process for the industry and at FDA for generic medicines submissions, which will speed up and increase patient access to lower-cost medicines,” said John Murphy III, President and CEO of the Association for Accessible Medicines. “We also thank Congress for taking the first concrete steps to curtail the opaque and anti-patient PBM business practices, but more needs to be done to remove the roadblocks to access generic medicines and patient savings instead of higher and more creative PBM fees.”

Q1/Q2 authorizes the FDA to bypass bureaucratic delays and disclose to a generic manufacturer the ingredients that make a proposed generic drug formulation not to be qualitatively and quantitatively, or Q1/Q2, the same as the brand-name reference product.

Murphy continued, “We encourage passing all of the PBM measures included in the 2024 omnibus bill, including delinking and spread pricing, as well as additional reforms such as implementing guardrails on PBM utilization management, pharmacy sourcing, and network contracting practices, and updating the bidding process to require PBMs to bid based on the lowest net effective cost including rebates, discounts, and all concessions guaranteed to payors.”