Senate Committee Approves ASHP-Supported Bills, Declines Harmful 340B Changes

Today, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee advanced several ASHP-supported bills that regulate pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) and improve access to generic drugs.  Specifically, the committee approved:

• S. 1607, the Ensuring Timely Access to Generic Drugs Act, which would allow the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to deny citizen petitions seeking to delay generic competition;
• S. 1114, the Expanding Access to Low-Cost Generic Act of 2023, which would prevent collusive activity between brands and manufacturers;
• S. 1214, the RARE Act, which would increase competition for some drugs treating rare diseases; and
• S. 1339, the Pharmacy Benefit Manager Reform Act, which brings greater transparency and accountability to the PBM marketplace. 

The committee also adopted amendments that would require reporting on significant increases in drug prices; improve access to naloxone; limit use of PBM-imposed step therapy; eliminate PBM gag clauses; consider placing fiduciary requirements on PBMs; and require PBMs to disclose direct and indirect compensation.  ASHP sent a letter to the committee indicating its support for all four bills, as well as possible improvements to address other PBM practices.

Thank you to ASHP members who participated in our grassroots effort to oppose additional and redundant reporting requirements on 340B covered entities.  Your efforts helped us prevent these policies from being added to the Senate legislation.