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Committee holds wide PBM overhaul bill for targeted fixes; DOI to draft narrower amendment
Summary
Lawmakers set aside a broad pharmacy benefit manager overhaul (SB665) after the Department of Insurance identified several contentious provisions — fiduciary duty language, steering restrictions, fine amounts and rebate treatment — and proposed drafting a focused amendment capturing consensus reporting and transparency measures.
A comprehensive pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) reform bill that would remake reporting, recordkeeping and certain commercial‑drug practices was placed on hold by a Commerce & Consumer Affairs subcommittee on Tuesday while stakeholders negotiate a narrowed amendment.
Insurance Department staff told members that many reporting and documentation provisions in the 14‑section bill would strengthen oversight and are enforceable, but four areas remain contested: a statutory fiduciary duty for PBMs, restrictions on pharmacy steering, the magnitude and structure of fines, and precise rebate accounting. Department staff said they could draft a targeted amendment that preserves consensus items (data reporting, documentation requirements and transparency measures) and remove or rework the most contentious sections.
The chair instructed DOI and stakeholders — insurers, PBMs and pharmacy representatives — to isolate the disputed sections and return next week with a proposed replacement amendment that contains the portions the committee can agree on. DOI counsel said the department supports strengthening data reporting requirements and clearer recordkeeping to help compute minimum loss ratios and detect off‑book rebate flows.
What’s next: DOI will convene stakeholders, draft a focused amendment on the non‑controversial reporting and transparency elements, and present it at next week’s subcommittee meeting. If consensus cannot be reached, the committee said it may remove the disputed sections and move the remainder.
