APhA Applauds Laws Prohibiting PBM 'Gag Clauses'

WASHINGTON, Oct. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, President Trump signed bipartisan legislation into law that will remove the barriers preventing pharmacists from helping patients find the least expensive way to purchase their prescription drugs. American Pharmacists Association (APhA) CEO Tom Menighan, BSPharm, MBA, ScD (Hon), FAPhA, and Board Trustee Theresa Tolle, BPharm, FAPhA, attended the bill signing in the Oval Office at the White House. APhA welcomes the White House's recognition of the value pharmacists bring to improve patient care and lower costs.

The Patient Right to Know Drug Prices Act, S.2554 and the Know the Lowest Price Act, S.2553, which APhA supported, prohibits pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs, from imposing provisions in pharmacy contracts that bar pharmacists from telling patients when the cash price of a drug is less than the copay or price patients pay through their insurance, also known as 'gag clauses.'

"For years pharmacists have been providing great care but have been prohibited by contractual restrictions from sharing information on how patients might better navigate their prescription drug costs," said Menighan. "This new law allows pharmacists to have those needed conversations with patients."

APhA is a strong supporter of efforts to increase patient access to more affordable and cost-effective medicines by empowering pharmacists to work closely with patients and their care teams to ensure optimum drug therapy selection.

"APhA applauds Congress and the Administration's actions against PBM practices that negatively affect patients," Menighan added. "It is not only good for patients, it is good for the health care system and promotes transparency."

About the American Pharmacists Association
The American Pharmacists Association, founded in 1852 as the American Pharmaceutical Association, is a 501 (c)(6) organization, representing more than 62,000 practicing pharmacists, pharmaceutical scientists, student pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and others interested in advancing the profession. APhA is dedicated to helping all pharmacists improve medication use and advance patient care and is the first-established and largest association of pharmacists in the United States. For more information, please visit www.pharmacist.com.

SOURCE American Pharmacists Association