DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) — Legislation is pending in the Illinois General Assembly which would toughen regulations against Pharmacy Benefit Managers, or PBMs.
PBMs are the middlemen that facilitate prescription drug benefit claims for health insurers.
PBMs have long been accused of using tactics to shortchange independent pharmacies driving them out of business. At the same time driving up prescription drug costs for patients.
House Bill 3761 would prohibit PBMs from directly or indirectly pushing patients towards their own mail order pharmacies; Expand access to lower copays for all patients who choose to use the pharmacy of their choice in the communities where they live; Prohibits PBMs that own pharmacies from steering and restricting patient access from the pharmacy of the patient’s choice.
In recent years several central Illinois pharmacies closed their doors or sold out to PBMs.
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