Congressional Recess Approaching

This is the last week Congress is in session before a two-week spring recess. It will be a busy week with presidential budget hearings, as well as several hearings focusing on everything from transparency and pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) to oral health. US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Becerra will continue testifying in front of various congressional committees on the HHS budget. This week he is set to appear before the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee.

The Senate Finance Committee will hold a hearing on PBMs on Thursday, March 30, that will feature prescription drug experts, academics and economists, but no PBMs. Last week, we saw the Senate Commerce Committee move forward PBM transparency legislation. We anticipate that the House Energy and Commerce hearing on March 28 on transparency and consolidation will touch on the role of PBMs. Policymakers on both sides of the aisle are interested in PBMs and may be able to find bipartisan compromise. The PBM industry plays a middleman role for prescription drugs, with limited transparency in how they work. We expect continued interest in PBMs throughout this Congress.