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PhRMA witness tells House Insurance Committee PBMs and 340B growth are shifting drug costs to patients and employers
Summary
Leslie Wood of PhRMA told the committee that consolidation among pharmacy benefit managers and expansion of the federal 340B Drug Pricing Program are increasing patient out-of-pocket costs and state/employer spending; she offered reforms including passing rebates to patients and PBM regulation.
Leslie Wood, regional vice president of state policy for the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), told the House Insurance Committee that consolidation among pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) and expansion of the federal 340B Drug Pricing Program have altered how discounts flow through the prescription supply chain and are increasing costs for patients, employers and state governments.
Wood said nearly 90% of prescriptions are filled with generics and that net prescription spending has remained a relatively stable share of total health-care spending, but that large portions of branded-drug spending are captured by intermediaries. "More than half of every dollar spent on branded medicines goes to entities other than the manufacturer," Wood said, adding…
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