WASHINGTON, June 29, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — In a clear
victory for consumers and employers, the Maine state legislature
voted yesterday to repeal the state’s costly law mandating
fiduciary-disclosure requirements on pharmacy benefit managers
(PBMs). The law had forced all employers into a mandated
state-prescribed contract model for pharmacy benefits and also
required the disclosure of proprietary financial contract terms
between PBMs and their health plan and employer clients.
The Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA) and
other supporters of repealing the law – including the state
employees plan, employers, and consumers – said the law
eliminated competition among pharmacy benefit managers and
increased prescription drug costs.
“Legislators across the country are learning that anti-PBM laws
simply increase health care costs,” said PCMA President and CEO
Mark Merritt. “This sends a signal to other states that
may consider anti-PBM laws: buyer beware.”
PBMs reduce health costs for employers, unions, Medicare Part D
and other payers by negotiating discounts from drugstores and drug
manufacturers, increasing the use of more affordable generic
options, and introducing other cost-saving innovations like 90-day
home delivery of prescription medications.
Since the enactment of the Maine legislation in 2003, more than
30 states have considered and ultimately rejected similar
legislation because it would lead to increased costs without any
benefit for consumers. For these reasons, a broad coalition
of consumers, Fortune 500 employers, labor unions, health insurers,
and others have worked together to defeat these proposals at the
state level across the country.
Maine was the only state that imposed such fiduciary-disclosure
requirements on PBMs. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has
explored this issue numerous times and found that the wrong kind of
transparency incr
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