NCPA Supports Georgia Generic Drug Payment Legislation

PRESS RELEASE

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (April 3, 2015) — National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) CEO B. Douglas Hoey, RPh, MBA issued the following statement regarding bipartisan Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) reform legislation (HB 470) overwhelmingly approved by the Georgia State Senate and Georgia General Assembly:

“Community pharmacists need reasonable reimbursement and access to drug pricing data in order to continue to dispense medication, counsel patients and contribute to the local economy and society. Unfortunately, this is not the case for certain generic drugs that rapidly skyrocket in cost while it may take months for the reimbursement benchmark, or maximum allowable cost (MAC), to catch up. In these instances pharmacies incur significant and unsustainable losses simply for helping their patients.

“So we c

ongratulate the Georgia Pharmacy Association (GPhA) on moving legislation that both strengthens the existing fair audit law and also implements greater generic drug pricing transparency. We commend the State House and Senate for supporting this measure as well.

“This important legislation would require that PBMs update MAC pricing no less than every five business days; implement penalties for non-compliance; facilitate a resolution process when controversies arise over MAC rates; and grant new authority for enforcement by the state insurance commissioner. NCPA has supported the efforts of many states that have advanced similar transparency legislation. Many of the successfully enacted laws have then faced notable challenges regarding PBM compliance. HB470 has taken steps in an attempt to close the loopholes within previously enacted state laws, of which the PBM industry has taken advantage to work around the laws’ intent. We hope that GPhA’s notable efforts to address these issues prove to be successful.

“We encourage Governor Nathan Deal to sign this legislation into law. NCPA was proud to work closely with GPhA during this process.”