NEWS: Senators Blunt Rochester and Marshall Introduce Legislation to Help Lower Prescription Drug Costs Through PBM Transparency

Washington, DC - U.S. Senators Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.) and Roger Marshall, M.D. (R-Kan.), both members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, today introduced the PBM Disclosure Act, bipartisan legislation that would require Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) and other third-party administrators to disclose all forms of direct and indirect compensation they receive while managing prescription drug benefits for employer-sponsored health plans.

"With health care costs sky high, the last thing families and employers should have to deal with is confusion and opacity in the system," said Senator Blunt Rochester. "I'm grateful to build upon my work in the House to reform our PBM system alongside Senator Marshall. This bill is a commonsense, bipartisan step toward transparency and accountability within our health care system."

"Americans deserve a fair deal, not a rigged system where PBMs profit while families struggle to afford their medications," said Senator Marshall. "This bill is a straightforward transparency measure that will help employers understand what they're paying for and help stop PBMs from gaming the system."

Background:

• PBMs are third-party companies that administer prescription drug benefits on behalf of health insurance plans.
• They use various predatory practices such as formulary prices, rebates, spread pricing, and others to increase their profits at the cost of patients.
• These middlemen are also vertically integrated and use their positions to prevent competition and drive up prices.
• Congress has worked on several proposals to stop PBMs and lower prescription drug prices, and Senator Marshall has been a cosponsor of many of these efforts.

The PBM Disclosure Act would:

• Require PBMs and third-party administrators to disclose all direct and indirect compensation they receive, ensuring employers and plan sponsors have full visibility into the true cost of pharmacy benefit services.
• Increase transparency to prevent predatory or deceptive PBM practices, which currently contribute to unclear pricing and higher drug costs.
• Help lower the cost of prescription drugs by exposing hidden payments and ensuring market decisions are based on value rather than behind-the-scenes financial incentives.

Full text of the bill is available here.

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Senator Lisa Blunt Rochester represents Delaware in the United States Senate where she serves on the Committees on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs; Commerce, Science, and Transportation; Environment and Public Works; and Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.