Latest Weather Blog
Louisiana House committee advances bill limiting how prescription drug middlemen charge pharmacies
Related Story
BATON ROUGE - The cost of prescription drugs depends on many factors, one of which state lawmakers debated on Wednesday morning: limiting the impact of middlemen on independent pharmacies.
Pharmacy benefit managers negotiate prescription drug costs between pharmacies and drug companies. However, pharmacists say PBMs are cutting into their bottom line, driving up customer costs.
A bill was proposed to address the concerns. The legislation would limit how PBMs make money, set flat service fees and put a cap on performance bonuses. PBMs could not reimburse pharmacies for less than the National Average Drug Acquisition Cost, plus dispensing and other fees.
According to lawmakers, doing so would keep costs low for independent pharmacies, which claim they have no say in how much they pay for medicine.
Butch Ray opened his pharmacy, Ray's Pharmacies, in the 1980s when his daughter Rachel Lacroix was an infant. When Ray retired, Lacroix took over managing the business, and says independent pharmacies are suffering as a result of the rates PBMs set, which Lacroix says is barely enough to keep the lights on.
"We're not getting the cost for labor," Lacroix said.
On the other hand, some worry that limiting income for PBMs might discourage them from pushing manufacturers for lower drug costs. One representative said in the House Committee on Insurance that the change would result in pharmaceutical companies profiting, while costs for patients continued to rise.
If passed, Louisiana would be the first state to make this kind of change. State Rep. Edmond Jordan, D-District 29, says he wants to make sure the legislation doesn't have unintended consequences.
"We need to make sure that whatever we're doing isn't going to raise drug prices for Louisiana residents," Jordan said.
The bill passed out of committee with amendments and is headed to the full House for a vote.
News
