Comer requested copies of the PBM contracts in the program and information on how they are carried out, along with info on rebates, fees and other details. Image: Studio Light and Shade/Shutterstock.com
The House Oversight and Accountability Committee has started an investigation into the role of “pharmacy benefit managers” (PBMs), which act as a middleman between insurance carriers and pharmaceutical companies in health care programs including the FEHB.
“Greater transparency in the PBM industry is vital to determine the impact PBM tactics are having on patients and the pharmaceutical market,” chairman Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., wrote to OPM. He asked for copies of the PBM contracts in the program and information on how they are carried out, as well as for information on the rebates, fees, or other similar charges received by PBMs and any efforts the agency has made to recoup overpayments to them.
Comer also sent letters to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Defense Health Agency and to several of the leading pharmacy benefit managers seeking information.
The use of pharmacy benefit managers has been a long-running issue in the FEHB, with prior proposals—mainly sponsored by Democrats, unsuccessfully—to limit their role or even have OPM negotiate with pharmaceutical companies directly on a program-wide basis.
The inspector general’s office at OPM also has raised that issue, in a recent report saying that “the discounts and other financial terms differed significantly among carriers, with those that have higher enrollments receiving the best deals, reducing the likelihood that the FEHB is maximizing prescription drug savings.”
That report recommended that OPM conduct a study on options to hold down prescription drug costs, which account for a quarter of all spending in the FEHB. OPM agreed in principle although it said it does not have the needed funds to conduct such a study.
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See also,
The Gift of Annual Leave for Federal Employees
Understanding the Federal Long-Term Care Insurance Program
Understanding FEDVIP: the Federal Employees Dental and Vision Program
Understanding the Federal Employees’ Group Life Insurance Program
