There’s no denying it – Congress gave big drugmakers a big win this year by passing landmark pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) reform in the Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA).

Last week at the Axios Future of Health Summit, PhRMA President and CEO Stephen Ubl outlined developments that he believes “will move the marketplace in the right direction,” including that PBM “legislation passed the Congress on a broad bipartisan basis,” and celebrated that the legislation “breaks the link… for how PBMs get paid,” and includes “a number of transparency requirements.”

While PCMA opposed the legislation as needless, there’s no question the way PBMs operate is changing rapidly.

At the same Axios event, PCMA President and CEO David Marin highlighted how significant business changes, coupled with the enactment of PBM reform, are reshaping the industry. He remarked that unprecedented transparency, “delinking,” and full rebate pass-through are now law:

“A lot of these things were happening already. A lot of them are self-initiated by our member companies. But a lot of them are part of a massive reform package that Congress passed earlier this year. That’s a good thing, and now we can move on and shine the light on other parts of the chain that deserve the same level of transparency.”

Moving on should include rescinding PBM regulations that were proposed before Congress wrote the new law. A recent Washington Examiner op-ed argues that thanks to wide-ranging PBM reforms included in the CAA, a proposed Department of Labor transparency rule is now duplicative and unnecessary:

“The proposed rules come on the heels of February’s Consolidated Appropriations Act, which erected a comprehensive federal framework to enhance transparency, lower costs, and increase oversight of the pharmacy benefits manager market. The bipartisan omnibus spending package made real progress toward transparency and savings in America’s opaque healthcare system and was a lobbying defeat for the PBM industry.”

A recent piece in US Pharmacist outlined the comprehensive changes included in the CAA and remarked that the reforms directly address transparency concerns among pharmacists:

“CAA 2026 represents the most consequential federal intervention in PBM regulation to date, establishing a transparent, auditable, service-based framework across the commercial market and Medicare Part D.”

PwC followed up with their own commentary in a new report on recent shifts in the PBM market:

“Sweeping federal reforms join recent state activity and enforcement pressure to materially shift the PBM operating environment. In the first quarter of 2026, Congress imposed rebate pass-through and transparency requirements on most PBMs… PBM reform is no longer a theoretical policy debate.”

Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives and Bobby Jindal, former Governor of Louisiana and former U.S. Representative, acknowledged the significance of PBM reform and made a plea to Congress that is echoing across the country: now that PBM reform is law, turn your attention to other health care cost drivers:

“Congress included significant pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) reforms in the 2026 spending package that strengthened transparency and rebate pass-through requirements—policies that shift financial incentives from industry middleman toward patient care.”

While the reforms included in the CAA were largely unnecessary and will not lower drug costs, PBMs are actively working to comply with the new federal laws. In the meantime, the work of Congress is far from done. Big drugmakers continue to abuse the patent system to extend monopoly pricing far beyond what the law intends. It’s time for Congress to take action and stop Big Pharma from blocking competition and keeping prices too high for American families.