Pritzker signs PBM reform package
A sweeping package to reform how pharmacy benefit managers operate in Illinois was signed into law Tuesday by Gov. JB Pritzker.
Legislative session focused on PBM reform, behavioral health coverage
Lawmakers approved sweeping changes to pharmacy benefit managers and removed prior authorization for some behavioral health services during the recently concluded spring session. Below is a roundup of some of the proposals that […]
Senate approves stricter PBM regulations
Senators approved a plan Thursday night that would reform how pharmacy benefit managers operate in Illinois.
My Incurable Condition Is A Potential Ozempic Side Effect. Trust Me — Weight Loss Isn’t Worth This.
Boxes of the diabetes drug Ozempic rest on a pharmacy counter on April 17 in Los Angeles. Mario Tama via Getty Images In case you’ve been living under a rock and missed the hype, Ozempic is an injectable diabetes drug that’s become popular as an off-label medication for weight loss. It mimics GLP-1, a naturally […]
Senate Committee Puts PBMs Under the Microscope
Pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) — middlemen between pharmacies, health insurers, and drug companies — are responsible for driving up prescription drug prices and shuttering independent pharmacies, witnesses said during a hearing held by the Senate Commerce, Science, & Transportation Committee. Three of the four witnesses — an economist, a physician, and a pharmacist — called […]
Gun Violence Bill Contains an Unlikely Provision on PBMs
WASHINGTON — Why does a law aimed at preventing gun violence include a provision dealing with pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs)? The answer is simple: money. The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, passed by Congress and signed into law on June 25 by President Biden, is designed primarily to decrease gun violence by, among other things, enhancing […]
3 Big Pharmacy Chains Must Pay $650 Million to Ohio Counties for Role in Opioid Crisis
Latest Mental Health News THURSDAY, Aug. 18, 2022 (HealthDay News) Three of the country’s largest pharmacy chains will have to pay $650.5 million over the next 15 years to two Ohio counties for their role in the opioid epidemic, a U.S. federal judge has ordered. The decision follows a November jury verdict that found CVS, […]
PBMs Under Fire at Senate Hearing
The role of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) in the drug supply chain and whether “anti-competitive” practices are driving up healthcare costs was scrutinized by the Senate on Thursday. PBMs are just one player in a “broken supply chain” explained Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), during a Thursday hearing of the Senate Subcommittee for the Committee on Commerce, […]
Eric Balmir Says Pediatric-Ready Drugs Are on the Horizon
Eric Balmir, MS, PharmD, serves as vice president and chief pharmacy officer at Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C. MedPage Today met with Balmir, who earned his doctorate from the University of Florida in Gainesville, in a conference room inside the D.C. hospital for an hour one afternoon in late July. Joining Balmir was a […]