Congress did not take any action this spring to regulate the operations of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), which is exactly what the lobbyists for the industry wanted. The Pharmaceutical Care Management Association, the largest trade group representing PBMs, increased its spending on lobbying by 71% in the first three months of this year compared to 2023, spending $4.8 million.
During negotiations, the odds were against PBMs, who are the middlemen between drugmakers and health insurers. The House passed a package aimed at increasing transparency, while two Senate committees passed significant reforms to how PBMs operate in Medicaid, Medicare, and the commercial insurance market. Public health programs, which are usually noncontroversial, had to be funded in a large government spending bill, allowing members of Congress to avoid voting on individual issues.
PBMs and pharmaceutical companies invest heavily in lobbying efforts with Congress
