House Passes Ban for PBMs, Medicare Hospital Drug Payment Cuts

Medicare would pay hospitals less for certain drugs and pharmaceutical industry middlemen would be prohibited from spread pricing under landmark health legislation the House passed Monday.

The House voted 320-71 to pass a bill (H.R. 5378) that would also extend funding for the federal community health centers program and bolster transparency requirements for health care providers and insurers.

“We have to know what the prices actually are so that we can empower patients and get some more competition within our health care system,” House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) said on the House floor ...