Washington, DC, May 25, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- This week, the House Energy and Commerce Committee passed legislation that supports patients living with life altering and life-threatening medical conditions and the specialty pharmacies that serve them. The Committee advanced H.R. 3561, which seeks to address anticompetitive practices by certain PBMs as well as to improve transparency across the drug channel. In a bipartisan effort spearheaded by Representatives Buddy Carter (R-GA) and Vincente Gonzalez (D-TX) and endorsed by NASP, the legislation will eliminate the practice of spread pricing that has negatively affected specialty and other pharmacies and will also protect 340B savings under Medicaid managed care arrangements.
Other legislation included in the passed bill would seek to make additional market practices more transparent, shedding a light on the fees being applied toward pharmacies by plans and PBMs and provide further understanding of patient steering to certain pharmacies that hurts patient choice and limits pharmacy network participation under Medicare Part D.
“NASP is grateful for the Committee’s work this week. We must address anti-competitive market practices that impact pharmacy if we seek to reduce taxpayer costs and support patients, particularly specialty patients with complex and costly medical conditions that specialty pharmacies treat.” NASP President and CEO Sheila Arquette, RPh stated. “The real truth here is that practices like spread pricing, pharmacy DIR claw backs and hidden fees on pharmacies are tactics intended to reduce pharmacy network participation and eliminate patient access and choice. These tactics are being applied across health insurance plans and products: Medicare, Medicaid and commercial plans, and action to rein them in is long overdue.”
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The National Association of Specialty Pharmacy (NASP) is the only national association representing all stakeholders in the specialty pharmacy industry. NASP members include the nation’s leading specialty pharmacies, pharmaceutical and biotechnology manufacturers, group purchasing organizations, patient advocacy groups, pharmacy benefit managers, integrated delivery systems and health plans, technology and data management vendors, logistics providers, wholesalers/distributors and practicing pharmacists, nurses, and pharmacy technicians. With more than 170 corporate members and 3,000 individual members, NASP is unifying the voices of specialty pharmacy.
