WASHINGTON, D.C. — In response to the House Ways and Means Committee unanimously passing H.R. 2113, legislation aimed at stopping drug price gouging and shedding light on secret PBM activity, Ben Wakana, the Executive Director of Patients For Affordable Drugs Now, issued the following statement:
“The bipartisan bill that passed today is a small step toward addressing an issue that 8 in 10 Americans say is a top priority. Patients appreciate Chairman Neal, Ranking Member Brady, and members on both sides of the aisle for working on an issue that is sending far too many Americans into debt.
“While we want to recognize today’s small win over Big Pharma, more action is necessary to help patients and lower prescription drug prices. We look forward to working with Congress to see further reforms enacted.”
BACKGROUND:
PRICE GOUGING: Language included in today’s bill would require drug manufacturers to provide written justification for price increases of 10 percent or $10,000 over 1 year, 25 percent or $25,000 over 3 years, or a starting drug price of more than $26,000. The drug company’s justification would be made public on the HHS website and failure to report justification would result in a $10,000 per day fine.
PBM TRANSPARENCY: Language included in today’s markup would make public on HHS’ website information on PBM rebates. The information would include, by drug class, the aggregate amount of rebates, discounts, or price concessions that are passed through to the plan sponsor.
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