An ACR delegation will propose two new resolutions on issues affecting practicing rheumatologists and their patients at the American Medical Association Interim Meeting of the House of Delegates in Honolulu Nov. 11–14. These proposals promote transparency of pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) practices and the protection of private payer consultation codes.
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Resolution 810
The ACR is introducing Resolution 810, Pharmacy Benefit Managers and Prescription Drug Affordability, with the support of the American Academy of Dermatology, the American Academy of Neurology, the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, the American Association of Clinical Urologists, the American College of Gastroenterology, the American Society of Clinical Oncology and the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA). The resolution’s proposals “address the unreasonable and increasing cost of drugs for our patients,” says Gary L. Bryant, MD, FACP, associate professor of medicine at the University of Minnesota and the ACR delegation chair for the AMA meeting.
The ACR has spent years visiting legislators and regulatory agencies “to address multiple factors that impact the increasing costs of prescription drugs and access to them, including exorbitant new drug prices, rising costs of generic drugs, and restrictive third-party payer policies that deny or delay appropriate care for our patients,” he says.
Resolution 810 supports the AMA’s Truth in RX campaign for more transparent drug pricing and “focuses on the increasing impact that PBMs have on prescription drug pricing, access and affordability,” says Dr. Bryant. PBMs absorb drug manufacturer rebates in exchange for inclusion on formularies, but this increases patients’ out-of-pocket costs and spurs coverage denials, the resolution states.