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ARLINGTON, Va. – The National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) is lauding Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Mike Crapo (R-ID) for his efforts to bring about real and comprehensive pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) reform that is meaningful for the most vulnerable in the Medicare and Medicaid programs – and for the pharmacies on which they rely.
Today, Sen. Crapo will lead a press conference in Twin Falls, ID, “on addressing [PBM] practices that have grown increasingly complex and opaque in recent years at the expense of patients and taxpayers.”NACDS President and CEO Steven C. Anderson said of the news: “We applaud Sen. Crapo for continuing to put patients before PBMs. The press conference today underscores the strong bipartisan commitment that exists to crack down on the pharmaceutical middleman tactics harming patients and pharmacies alike.“Polling shows that 79% of Idaho adults say pharmacists are credible sources of information about how to save money on prescription drugs – ranking them the highest in this area. The pharmacy community will live up to this trust and help advance reforms crucial for patients throughout Idaho and across America.“The Senate Finance Committee recently advanced the comprehensive PBM reform package, the Modernizing and Ensuring PBM Accountability Act, during a July 26 legislative markup. We appreciate that the Committee included many aspects of two vital bills — S. 1038 and S. 2052 – which are essential for addressing ‘pharmaceutical benefit manipulation’ and for delivering true reform.“NACDS pledges to back the Committee’s work to continue to further bolster the legislation to best safeguard patients and their pharmacies.”NACDS looks forward to continuing to work with leaders in the U.S. Congress to stop the manipulation by PBM go-betweens that increases patients’ medication costs, limits patients’ choice of pharmacies, restricts access to medicines that are right for them, and jeopardizes the pharmacies and pharmacy teams on whom patients rely.Specifically, NACDS looks forward to working on a bipartisan basis throughout the U.S. Congress to enact NACDS’ Principles of PBM Reform. NACDS’ Principles of PBM reform include: stopping explosive retroactive fees; stopping below-cost reimbursement; stopping the gaming of performance measures; stopping ‘specialty definitions’ from steering patients from their pharmacy; stopping mandatory mail-order; stopping limited networks; stopping overwhelming audits; and stopping the undercutting of PBM reform laws.An NACDS video message reminds the U.S. Congress that true and comprehensive PBM reform must include Medicare and Medicaid.
