Republicans Gear Up to Fight Insurers on Pharmacy Benefit System

Lawmakers are planning another attempt to lower drug prices by targeting pharmacy benefit managers, but a key legislator said they will clash with a familiar foe: insurance companies with PBM operations.

Often referred to as “middlemen” on Capitol Hill, pharmacy benefit managers administer drug benefits for health insurers and large employers. Increasingly, PBMs are getting their share of the blame for practices that lawmakers allege pad their profits and, as a result, drive up health costs. And according to Rep. Buddy Carter (R-Ga.), who is sponsoring a fresh round of legislative reforms, the insurance lobby won’t cede those changes without ...