(Washington, D.C.) — Today, the Senate passed a government funding bill that includes unrelated new mandates on employers and pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) that will increase prescription drug costs for American families. The policies focused solely on PBMs will drive drug prices higher, eliminate employer choice, and discourage competition in the PBM market. In response, Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA) President and CEO David Marin released the following statement:

“Congratulations to the big drugmakers, who have lobbied for years to enact these mandates. They will now have more power, and employers and patients will pay the consequences through higher drug prices. Americans already pay the highest prescription drug prices in the world, and under this bill they will pay even more. Make no mistake, this dangerous intrusion into the private sector will do nothing to help families and seniors, and it will prohibit the choice and flexibility of benefit design that employers overwhelmingly value. This bill risks undermining the critically important work of the Trump Administration to lower drug costs and make health care more affordable for American families. Lawmakers must stop being distracted by Big Pharma diversions and start focusing on the real drivers of higher drug costs, particularly the way manufacturers game the system to keep prices high. There are real solutions out there, but this bill is not one of them. The only winner today is Big Pharma.”