Washington, DC – In previously noting that capping Medicare beneficiaries’ out-of-pocket costs as low as possible is a primary long-term care (LTC) pharmacy advocacy priority as Congress debates drug pricing reform legislation, the Senior Care Pharmacy Coalition (SCPC) also recommended two pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) transparency provisions be included in the pending Prescription Drug Pricing Reduction Act of 2019 (S. 2543).
“SCPC applauds Chairman Grassley and Ranking Member Wyden for already including in the bill disclosure provisions for PBMs to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) — and for CMS to the public — which would significantly benefit consumers,” stated Alan G. Rosenbloom, President and CEO of SCPC.
As the legislation moves forward, Rosenbloom said SCPC recommends two additional policy refinements related to PBM transparency:
- More marketplace competition must be a companion to additional PBM transparency, as transparency alone will not address the increasingly oligopolistic nature of the pharmaceutical marketplace and LTC pharmacies’ place within it;
- Provisions that require reporting of information specific to retail pharmacies should logically be expanded to require reporting of data specific to LTC pharmacies.
“We look forward to working with the Chairman, Ranking Member and members of the Senate Finance Committee to advance a positive, bipartisan bill and improve it for the benefit of the nation’s independent long-term care pharmacies and the elderly, vulnerable patients they serve,” Rosenbloom concluded.
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The Senior Care Pharmacy Coalition (SCPC) is the only national organization exclusively representing the interests of LTC pharmacies. Its members operate in all 50 states and serve 850,000 patients daily in skilled nursing and assisted living facilities across the country. Visit seniorcarepharmacies.org to learn more.
