WASHINGTON — Congress did nothing this spring to rein in how pharmacy benefit managers operate, which is precisely the outcome the industry’s lobbyists wanted.
And the PBM industry spent big to get that result, new disclosures show. The Pharmaceutical Care Management Association, the industry’s biggest trade group, spent a whopping 71% more on lobbying in the first three months of this year compared with 2023, increasing its spending from $2.8 million to $4.8 million.
The odds were stacked against the middlemen between drugmakers and health insurers during this round of negotiations. The House overwhelmingly passed a package largely promoting greater transparency. Two committees in the Senate passed significant reforms to how PBMs operate in Medicaid, Medicare, and the commercial insurance market. And noncontroversial public health programs had to be paid for in a massive government spending bill, which can shield members of Congress from taking votes on any one issue alone.
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