WASHINGTON—The National Association of Chain Drug Stores urges immediate pharmacy benefit manager reform, with potential U.S. Senate movement via the “hotline” process.
In a statement, Steven C. Anderson, President and CEO of NACDS, highlighted the pressing need for legislative measures to address the harmful impact of PBM practices on both pharmacies and consumers.
“By whatever means, the consensus PBM reforms are long overdue and need to be enacted now. The negative impacts of inaction are mounting for Americans and for their pharmacies. Every day of inaction means continued drug-price inflation for people, more pharmacies forced out of business, and reduced access to necessary medications and pharmacy services – all while the big PBM middlemen profit massively,” Anderson said.
NACDS reports that pharmacies across the country are shuttering at a concerning pace, averaging 3.7 closures daily. Since 2018, over 5,800 pharmacies have gone out of business, including 1,338 in the last year. Additionally, the association highlighted that at least $300 million in savings for inpatient care have been lost since the previous Congress adjourned due to postponed PBM reforms.
Anderson warned lawmakers against being swayed by PBM lobbying efforts, stating: “It is imperative that the Congress and the Administration not get sold a bill of goods from the big PBMs, whose scare tactics are cynical and whose promises are empty.”
Bipartisan initiatives have highlighted the need for PBM reform, prompting NACDS to call on lawmakers for its prompt approval, free from political gamesmanship.
“PBM reform is ready to go, and that is the case thanks to extraordinary bipartisan work and agreement. NACDS praises this most recent effort to enact these reforms. NACDS urges that these reforms not become a political football in any way, and rather that they become the long-overdue and urgently-needed law of the land,” said Anderson.
