Congresswoman Tenney Introduces the Ensuring PBM Competition Act

Washington, DC – Congresswoman Claudia Tenney (NY-24) today introduced the Ensuring PBM Competition Act to prohibit any Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) participating in Medicare from owning a pharmacy. The bill grants PBMs five years after the date of enactment to divest their pharmacy ownership, with an allotment for the Secretary of Health and Human Services to grant a two-year delay if needed.

Specifically, this bill prohibits any pharmacy benefits manager (PBM) that, directly or indirectly, owns, controls, or has a financial interest in a pharmacy from participating in Medicare and offering Medicare Part D plans. Currently, the top 3 largest PBMs control almost 80% of the PBM marketplace, undermining competition in our drug insurance market. This also creates enormous problems for local pharmacies, which can often have trouble competing for inclusion in PBM coverage networks with large national pharmacy chains, which are often directly owned by the PBMs themselves. In addition, many PBMs are now requiring certain drugs to be bought from online-only pharmacies, which are also often owned by the PBM. It is time to separate the PBM from the pharmacy marketplace to ensure fair competition and local access to prescription drugs. 

“The Ensuring PBM Competition Act is a significant step towards fostering a healthcare environment that prioritizes fairness, competition, and, most importantly, the well-being of the American people,” said Congresswoman Tenney. “It is simply unfair to force our local pharmacies to compete with pharmacies which are owned by the PBMs themselves. When these smaller pharmacies shut down, they often leave smaller communities without any easy access to their prescription drugs or the guidance provided by a trusted pharmacist. It is our responsibility to ensure they can compete in a fair marketplace.”

Read the full text of the bill here.

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