Senators Marshall, Lankford Urge Senate Leadership to Act on Lowering Rx Costs and Saving Rural Pharmacies

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Roger Marshall, M.D. and Senator James Lankford (R-OK) led their colleagues in sending a letter to Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) calling on them to rein in Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBM) practices that hurt patients and pharmacies. 

“The need to act is more severe now than ever before. In 2023 there were over 300 independent pharmacy net closures—almost one per day. Unfortunately, that trend has only grown in 2024. Pharmacies across the country have been forced to close their doors because PBMs have continued to reimburse them significantly less than it costs the pharmacy to even purchase the drug. This is unsustainable, especially for small family businesses. The impacts of these closures only hurt already-struggling communities by decreasing the number of quality health care providers and likely increasing costs for seniors,” the Senators wrote in the letter. 

Marshall and Lankford were joined on the letter by Senators Mark Warner (D-VA), John Boozman (R-AR), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Jim Risch (R-ID), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Roger Marshall (R-KS), Angus King (I-ME), John Cornyn (R-TX), Jon Tester (D-MT), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Mike Braun (R-IN), Peter Welch (D-VT), Susan Collins (R-ME), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Gary Peters (D-MI), Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), Mike Rounds (R-SD), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Chris Coons (D-DE), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Joe Manchin (I-WV), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Patty Murray (D-WA), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Deb Fischer (R-NE), and Martin Heinrich (D-NM).

Read the letter HERE. 

Background:

Senator Marshall has long advocated for PBM reform on Capitol Hill and fought to lower prescription drug costs for the American people. Senator Marshall’s leadership in this space includes:

S.1374 – Patient Right to Shop Act: Prohibits group health plans and health insurance issuers from entering into contracts that would prevent or restrict patient access to drug pricing information otherwise available through consumer decision-support tools.

S.1542 – DRUG Act: Prohibits PBMs from charging/receiving fees based on the price of a drug, discounts, or rebate.

S.1543: Requires regulations concerning the disclosure of direct and indirect compensation from entities providing pharmacy benefit management services or third-party administration services.

Additionally, Senator Marshall has signed onto the following pieces of legislation as an original cosponsor. 

S.1038 – Drug Price Transparency in Medicaid Act: Requires pass-through pricing models and prohibits spread-pricing, for payment arrangements with pharmacy benefit managers under Medicaid. The bill also extends funding for retail pharmacy surveys and requires additional information with respect to price concessions and survey participation to be made publicly available.

S.1339 – Pharmacy Benefit Manager Reform Act: Bans spread pricing, requires all rebates and discounts to be passed onto the group health plan sponsor. Also includes robust transparency and reporting requirements.

S.1967 – PBM Act: Prohibits PBMs under the Medicare prescription drug benefit or Medicare Advantage from receiving any income for their services other than bona fide service fees.

S.2164 – Lower Costs, More Cures Act of 2021: Requires CMS to publish certain information, as reported by PBMs, relating to generic dispensing rates, drug discounts and rebates, and payments between PBMs, health plans, and pharmacies, caps annual out-of-pocket spending under the Medicare prescription drug benefit, and establishes the position of Chief Pharmaceutical Negotiator in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.S.3330: Requires the Secretary of Labor to conduct a study on the fiduciary duties of pharmacy benefit managers.