USA Today Reporter: Ken Alltucker A bipartisan group of lawmakers is renewing a push to target drug pricing middlemen by forcing some large pharmacy companies to break up parts of their business. It's legislation that'll look familiar to people in Tennessee – a similar bill passed the state legislature and awaits Gov. Bill Lee's signature. CVS Health has threatened to close all 134 of its pharmacy locations in Tennessee because the legislation takes aim at the pharmacy giant'

Tennessee Lookout Author: Hendrell Remus Today’s political climate is defined by soaring polarization, corporate capture and politicians who too often put donors and special interests before the people they serve. I saw it (and lived it) during my four years as Chair of the Tennessee Democratic Party. But the FairRx Act is different. In the face of a fierce corporate pressure campaign, legislators on both sides of the aisle stood up for Tennesseans struggling to afford and ac

Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) sit at the center of America's prescription drug supply chain. The three largest — CVS Caremark, Express Scripts, and OptumRx — process roughly 80 percent of all U.S. prescriptions and are owned by the same parent companies that also own major health insurers and major pharmacy chains. Federal and state lawmakers from both parties have introduced legislation that would require these companies to divest their pharmacy operations. As of this mon

Modern Healthcare Reporter: Noah Tong Key Takeaways The Federal Trade Commission and Express Scripts last month settled allegations the pharmacy benefit manager inflated insulin prices. Pharmacies say Express Scripts responded by worsening their contract terms and demanding more data about their businesses. The settlement is too ambiguous and the FTC needs to hold PBMs accountable, pharmacies contend. The FTC is poised to resolve similar charges against CVS Caremark and Optum

This March legislative madness is in full swing, and PBM Reform legislation at the state level has continued to heat up across the country. Many states have actualized savings within their Medicaid program, and are looking to help expand that success to state employee and commercial plans to help start realizing savings. We are still seeing perennial powerhouses show leadership with reimbursement reform, with a few new faces fighting the opaque “prescription tax” misinformat

Experts say the bipartisan Break Up Big Medicine Act — aimed at breaking up vertically integrated healthcare companies — faces slim chances of passing despite recent PBM reforms. MedCity News Reporter: Marissa Plescia In February, Congress finally took action to rein in PBMs via the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2026. It included reforms like the delinking of PBM compensation from the price of a drug in Medicare Part D and more detailed reporting to plan sponsors. But t

Congress passed its most significant changes yet, but implementation and industry maneuvering will determine whether drug prices fall. WP Intelligence Reporter: Rebecca Adams Key Takeaways Congress has cracked open the PBM black box — but the real battle now shifts to implementation. The most significant federal legislation to date targeting pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) aims to restructure how they are paid, increase transparency and curb practices that critics say infla

A collection of recently published state and federal documents has us scratching our heads and asking, “why is it so difficult to enforce certain PBM reform laws?” In the last few weeks we’ve seen: incomplete state audits or audits rendered inconclusive because PBMs didn’t turn over files as directed by state law; or audits revealing what appears to be a complacent attitude toward implementing the state’s PBM reform laws laws barring spread pricing , or below-cost reimb

Duluth News Tribune Author: Andrew Russell, PharmD, PUTT Board Member For many Minnesotans, the local independent pharmacy is the most accessible and consistent point of care in the health system. Whether it's a senior managing multiple chronic conditions, a parent juggling work and caregiving, or a patient in a community where health care options are limited, pharmacies remain anessential lifeline. Yet, behind the counter, independent pharmacies face mounting pressures from

The legislation will impose new restrictions on pharmacy benefit managers, giant companies like CVS Caremark, Optum Rx and Express Scripts that oversee prescription drug benefits. The New York Times Reporters: Reed Abelson and Rebecca Robbins The spending package passed by Congress on Tuesday includes an effort to drive down drug prices, by imposing new restrictions on some of the most controversial practices of the giant companies that oversee prescription benefits. The leg