(Washington, D.C.) — The Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA) issued the following statement on today’s action by the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health drug pricing transparency legislation:

PCMA applauds the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health for advancing legislation promoting real-time benefit tools to give prescribers and patients at the point of prescribing information on prescription drug formulary options and cost sharing.

We are also pleased the Subcommittee is taking a thoughtful approach to providing transparency that attempts to limit drug manufacturers’ ability to engage in tacit collusion to raise drug costs.

“Transparency is a necessity. Real-time benefit tools allow physicians to choose the most affordable drugs for each patient,” said JC Scott, President and CEO, PCMA. “PBMs practice and support transparency for patients and their physicians as well as our clients and policymakers. All stakeholders in the drug supply chain should be open to greater transparency, including manufacturers.”

PCMA’s principles on transparency include:

• Providing real-time benefit tools, so physicians and patients know, at the point of prescribing, what drugs are on formulary and patients’ cost-sharing.
• Providing information to clients on all contract terms, including how PBMs are paid for their services and negotiated rebates.
• Providing government regulators, such as CMS for Medicare Part D, information on price concessions, costs, and service fees.

In addition, PCMA supports providing Medicare Part D prescription drug event and rebate data to the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission and the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission.

The Subcommittee is taking an important step with their legislative action, and we look forward to working with Congress to continue to refine this legislation and to advance transparency measures that reduce prescription drug costs for consumers.