Listen to this note:
California Attorney General, Rob Bonta, today joined a bipartisan coalition of 39 attorneys general urging Congress to pass legislation holding Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) accountable for their unfair and deceptive practices that drive up health care costs. prescription drugs.
PBMs act as intermediaries between pharmacies, drug manufacturers, health insurance plans, and consumers. Given this, their position gives them an enormous impact on consumer access to prescription medications.
?Millions of Americans across this country cannot afford life-saving medications because pharmaceutical prices are rising at an alarming rate. “This is simply abhorrent and unacceptable,” said Attorney General Bonta.
?Today, my fellow attorneys general and I call on Congress to enact better laws that provide greater transparency and accountability, something much needed within the PBM industry. We must put an end to these deliberate, unfair and deceptive pricing tactics that allow PBMs to line their own pockets at the expense of consumers. Is the time to act now? he added.
In the letter signed by the 39 prosecutors, the coalition asks House Speaker Mike Johnson, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell to urge Congress to implement reforms and regulate PBM business practices.
Likewise, they pointed to three pieces of pending federal legislation that include proposals that would convey important steps to reform the industry and combat high health care costs: the DRUGS Act (S1542/HR6283), the Protecting Patients Against Drugs Act PBM Abuses (HR2880) and the Protecting Patients from PBM Abuses Act (HR2880).
Thus, Attorney General Bonta joined the attorneys general of Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virgin Islands, Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
You may be interested in: Victims of domestic violence are at greater risk due to lack of access to housing
