WASHINGTON— Today, Congressman James Comer (R-Ky.), along with Representatives Jake Auchincloss (D-Mass.) and Diana Harshbarger (R-Tenn.), introduced the Pharmacists Fight Back Act to lower life-saving prescription drug costs and rein in the predatory practices of Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs). Since 2021, Congressman Comer has spearheaded a House Oversight Committee investigation that has uncovered how PBMs abuse their position as middlemen, keeping rebates and fees for themselves, undermining community pharmacists, and pushing higher drug costs onto patients at the pharmacy counter.

“Congress is putting Pharmacy Benefit Managers on notice: their era of taking advantage of Americans is ending. PBMs have abused their role as middlemen, keeping rebates and fees for themselves, weakening our community pharmacists, and pushing costs onto patients at the pharmacy counter. We have a responsibility to act and that's why I am proud to introduce the bipartisan Pharmacists Fight Back Act. This legislation takes meaningful steps to protect patients and our Kentucky pharmacists, ensuring they can access and provide affordable, life-saving medications to all without PBM interference. I look forward to working with my colleagues and our local pharmacists to get this legislation to the President’s desk,” said Congressman Comer.

Congressman Comer held a press conference with his colleagues and pharmacists from across the nation, including Kentucky, on the steps of the U.S. Capitol today to address how PBM abuses have raised out-of-pocket costs for Americans and contributed to the closure of independent pharmacies. The Pharmacists Fight Back Act puts an end to these predatory PBM practices by establishing a transparent, market-based reimbursement model tied to the National Average Drug Acquisition Cost, preventing PBMs from restricting pharmacy networks or steering patients to their affiliated pharmacies, and strengthening penalties and oversight of PBMs.
 
Watch Congressman Comer’s full remarks from the press conference here.
 
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Comer Launches Investigation into Pharmacy Benefit Managers’ Role in Rising Health Care Costs
 
Comer Releases Report on PBMs’ Harmful Pricing Tactics and Role in Rising Health Care Costs