The National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) today recognized the Senate Finance Committee for including critical Medicaid pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) reforms in its version of the budget reconciliation bill. This follows the House’s recent inclusion of these same reforms, signaling bicameral resolve to tackle one of healthcare’s most urgent challenges.
If enacted, the legislation would demand full transparency and accountability from PBMs, requiring 100% pass-through of ingredient costs and professional dispensing fees directly to pharmacies, eliminating spread pricing, and ensuring that Medicaid managed care pharmacy reimbursement reflects the actual cost of medications. These reforms are among those needed to confront PBM middleman tactics that inflate Americans’ drug costs, that force pharmacies to close, that make healthcare more remote and out of touch in communities throughout the nation, and that further burden taxpayers.
“With the inclusion of these reforms in both the House and Senate versions of this legislation, Congress is sending a clear and united message that the unchecked abuses of PBMs must end,” NACDS President and CEO Steven C. Anderson said. “These measures will ensure that Medicaid managed care pharmacy reimbursement reflects the true cost of acquiring and dispensing prescription medications, strengthening the foundation for pharmacy care nationwide.”
The urgency of this issue is underscored by the stark reality: pharmacies are closing at a rate of 3.7 per day, with more than 5,800 closures since 2018 and 1,364 in 2024 alone. These closures have created more than 800 pharmacy deserts across U.S. ZIP codes, putting vital healthcare services out of reach for too many Americans.
“NACDS has long championed these reforms, and decisive action at the federal level is long overdue and needed now,” Anderson continued. “There is no time to waste — Americans need relief from soaring drug costs, from threats to healthcare access, and from the harmful practices of PBM middlemen.”
