States Working Towards Regulating Pharmacy Drug Brokers

With the growing pressure established by the skyrocketing prescription drug costs, multiple States are now focusing on companies that act as conduits for nationwide manufacturers and pharmacies as well as health insurance providers. Over hundred separate bills regulating such establishments also known as pharmacy benefit managers have already been initiated in forty-two States across the United States this year, as reviewed by the National Academy for States Health Policy.

Surging number of bills followed the United States Supreme Court ruling late last year backing Arkansas’ right to impose certain rules on the companies. A minimum of twelve States have adopted the new oversight laws.

However, an unclear understanding of how much money consumers will effectively save instantly or whether they will save at all still prevails. The agglomerated efforts of companies together administer medication plans for over 266 million Americans. Couple of these companies namely Express Scripts, CVS Caremark, and OptumRX currently manages the vast majority of the market all the while operating national pharmacy chains.

The pharmacy benefit managers claim to utilize all of that power to negotiate the regulation of lower prescription prices. However, the inner workings, and details of the deal along with the specifications associated with how much of those saving these companies pocket are unknown, and are hidden which is precisely what the lawmakers intend to reflect a light upon.Montana is a potential candidate testing ground determining whether or not more transparency results in lowered drug prices in line with the new law that puts those businesses under state oversight.