WASHINGTON — Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA) president and chief executive officer Mark Merritt released the following statement on reports of yet another round of massive price hikes by drug manufacturers. “News of recent price increases by drugmakers further confirms that the easiest way to lower costs would be for drug companies to lower their prices.” This
WASHINGTON — Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a legislative package, SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act (H.R. 6), which requires electronic prescribing (e-prescribing) of controlled substances in Medicare. “This is an important step in the fight against America’s opioid epidemic,” the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA) said. E-prescribing of controlled substances ensures each prescription
WASHINGTON — After 15 years of heading up the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA), chief executive officer and president Mark Merritt is stepping down, effective at year-end. Under Merritt’s leadership, PCMA grew from an obscure group into the nation’s leading voice on prescription drug benefits. One of his first missions was to help shape the bill
ARLINGTON, Va. — The “untenable” procedures around direct and indirect remuneration fees (DIR fees) can be righted with measures reducing costs for beneficiaries and the government, while promoting a more quality-driven health care system, says the National Association of Chain Drug Stores. NACDS expressed that message in comments to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The National Community Pharmacists Association and the Arkansas Pharmacists Association (APA) have filed an amici curiae brief in federal court against a challenge by the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA). NCPA said the brief, filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, supports Arkansas in a lawsuit initiated by
A lobbying event in Washington has triggered salvoes between two combatants: independent community pharmacies and pharmacy benefit managers. The National Community Pharmacists Association is holding its Congressional Pharmacy Fly-In advocacy drive this week, where it will also release “The PBM Story: What They Say, What They Do, and What Can Be Done About It,” offered
WASHINGTON — Sen. Ron Wyden (D., Ore.) has introduced the Creating Transparency to Have Drug Rebates Unlocked Act (C-THRU), aimed at bringing more visibility into prescription drug pricing by pharmacy benefit managers. The C-THRU legislation, initiated Wednesday in the Senate Finance Committee, would require PBMs serving Medicare Part D plans to disclose the aggregate rebates
A half-dozen congressmen pointed a finger at pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) on the floor of the House of Representatives last week in an hour of comments on the high cost of prescriptions drugs, the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) said in its Executive Update e-newsletter. In the session, Reps. Doug Collins (R., Ga.), Brian Babin
With high prescription drug costs a pillar of the national debate on health care, the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA) is trying to shed some light on drug pricing. The Washington, D.C.-based PBM trade group on Wednesday released a video titled, “What is drug price transparency?”. PCMA said the goal is to show how transparency
(*Note: Go to 42:05 of video for Cuomo’s discussion of prescription drug costs.) ALBANY, N.Y. — New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo unveiled a three-pronged plan to check soaring prescription drug prices, which he called a “tremendous problem” for the state and its residents. In his 2017 State of the State address on Wednesday, Cuomo proposed