Experts Say Transparency Needed in Drug Pricing Practices

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) says it’s time for Congress to shine a light on a business with extraordinary control over prescription drug prices—Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBM).
“I believe this is an industry going in the wrong direction,” Wyden said during a hearing hosted by the Senate Finance Committee on March 30. The hearing was titled “Pharmacy Benefit Managers and the Prescription Drug Supply Chain.”
Wyden chairs the committee.
According to Wyden and several witnesses, PBMs originated in the 1980s to negotiate prices on behalf of consumers. They have evolved into entities that primarily operate in the dark and are focused on maximizing their profits, the witnesses said….}