Drug Plans Are Fighting States to Keep Prices in the Dark
- California bill, Nevada law aimed at pharmacy-benefit managers
- Firms say more oversight threatens savings on medicine costs
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California is the biggest state so far to seek to pull back the curtain on pharmacy-benefits managers, as the industry aggressively tries to thwart a wider push for transparency.
Lawmakers in the General Assembly advanced a bill that would require more disclosures of discounts negotiated between the companies and drugmakers, but the measure is on hold after Governor Jerry Brown’s administration last week asked for changes. Benefits managers have stymied several attempts at the state and federal levels to pry open their workings.