(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – Today, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is considering H.R. 6610, the Pharmacists Fight Back [in Federal Employee Health Benefit Plans Act]. The legislation mandates minimum reimbursement rates for pharmacies participating in the Federal Employee Health Benefit plan (FEHB), adding significant cost to the program with no added benefit to enrollees.

David Marin, President and CEO, of the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA), issued the following statement on the committee activity:

“Let’s understand this bill for what it is: a huge cash transfer from taxpayers to pharmacists and nothing more. It makes providing health benefits to federal workers far more expensive, simply as a gift to one industry. Lawmakers must not be dragged around by the pharmacists’ lobby, which is working to create a more expensive prescription drug system that benefits them alone. This bill does not help patients; it only puts taxpayers on the hook for a more expensive prescription drug benefit. That is why many groups that rely on this program are sounding the alarm, including federal employee union organizations and those involved with the program. Lawmakers should take a much closer look at the consequences of such a pharmacist giveaway before moving any further with this bill or anything like it.”