Tackling Prescription Drug Costs OAS Episode 160

Our focus on this podcast is the prescription drug market and the role of pharmacy benefit managers or PBMs. PBMs play a major role in the drug supply chain. They are third-party administrators of prescription drug benefits for health plans, large employers and other payers, including state Medicaid programs. They process claims, review drug utilization, develop pharmacy networks, and create lists of covered drugs called formularies. They also negotiate rebates from manufacturers for placement on those formularies. To reduce the costs for prescription drugs in their states, some legislators are considering strategies related to pharmacy benefit management. Legislatures have pursued a number of strategies, including reverse auctions. We invited two legislators on who have worked on legislation related to PBMs to discuss the experience in their states. Our guests are Rep. Susan Lontine, a Democrat from Colorado, and Sen. Fred Mills, a Republican of Louisiana. Both states have passed legislation authorizing a reverse auction for their PBM contracts and they discuss why they pursued that avenue and other efforts to control prescription drug costs.

NCSL Podcasts · Rep. Susan Lontine of Colorado, Sen Fred Mills of Louisiana