BALTIMORE, MD—Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown has joined 39 of his fellow attorney generals in calling for reform of the pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) industry.

The coalition of attorneys general released a letter (PDF) to Congress urging them to engage in meaningful debate on reform. The letter highlights three bills as critical pieces of legislation: the DRUG Act, the Protecting Patients Against PBM Abuses Act, and the Lower Costs, More Transparency Act.

If passed, the legislation aims to limit PBMs from unfairly increasing drug prices and also mandate steps that increase transparency of their practices. The legislation would require PBMs to provide pricing data to health plans and to federal and state regulators in a standardized format. This would empower health plans to better negotiate with PBMs and help regulators hold PBMs more accountable.

Pharmacy benefit managers are third-party companies that serve as intermediaries between insurance companies and pharmaceutical manufacturers. They typically negotiate discounts and rebates with drug companies on behalf of health plans, contracts with pharmacies, and develop and maintain drug formularies, which are lists of covered drugs.

“Patients deserve lower prices, and the PBM industry needs to be held accountable for its actions,” said Attorney General Brown. “This coalition is committed to ensuring meaningful changes are made within the PBM industry to protect the needs and interests of patients over profits.”

This article was written with the assistance of AI and reviewed by a human editor.

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