Committee schedules informational hearings on PBMs, GLP-1 drugs and public employer insurance

Committee leaders announced a series of informational hearings and briefings during the May 20, 2025 meeting of the House Committee on Behavioral Health and Health Care in Hearing Room C.

The chair said the committee will hold a session on centralized pharmaceutical purchasing and pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), noting that Oregon's 16 coordinated care organizations currently maintain separate formularies. "Some other folks would like to suggest that maybe we take a different approach," the chair said, adding that Ohio has one PBM for its Medicaid program and that it "saved them a lot of money." The chair said the Thursday session would explore state approaches to centralized purchasing, formularies and PBM arrangements.

The committee also scheduled a Tuesday briefing on how public employers and government entities operate insurance arrangements, and an informational hearing on GLP-1 medications. The chair said of GLP-1s: "I do think these medications are amazing, but I've been reluctant to hear any bills about them because they're very expensive... they also have the potential to be life changing." Later hearings will examine health care cost-sharing arrangements (sometimes called health care sharing ministries) and issues behavioral health providers raise about pay parity and reimbursement.

Committee leaders said some topics may be developed further in the interim or during the short session, and the chair noted the committee had sent House Bill 3212 (a major PBM bill) to Rules; leaders were considering an informational hearing to air competing amendments and get guidance from the committee to Rules.

The committee encouraged members to attend the informational sessions.