MassBio CEO and President Kendalle Burlin O’Connell released the following statement after the Massachusetts House of Representatives released their prescription drug access, PBM oversight bill:
“MassBio commends the House of Representatives for their thoughtful approach to industry engagement and effective transparency through this legislation. We believe the House is seeking to strike the right balance between reasonable market oversight, especially through the licensing and regulation of pharmacy benefits managers (PBMs), and enhanced patient access, with a focus on affordability.
“We’re thrilled to see several patient-centered priorities make it into the underlying bill, including requirements on carriers and Pharmacy Benefit Managers to certify annually that at least 80% of manufacturer rebates negotiated to reduce the cost of a drug actually go toward decreasing a patient’s out-of-pocket costs at the pharmacy counter; and a co-pay accumulator ban to guarantee the coupons and vouchers patients use to decrease costs at the counter are counted towards their coverage deductible and out-of-pocket maximums. Both of these measures directly decrease what a patient pays for his or her therapy and as such are longtime MassBio priorities.
“We look forward to continuing our engagement with the legislature as the House debates the bill this week and it moves towards a conference committee with House and Senate leadership.”