On February 11, the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee held a hearing entitled, "Lowering Health Care Costs for All Americans: An Examination of the Prescription Drug Supply Chain." During the hearing, members heard testimony from a panel of nine witnesses, including eight executives of associations whose members are part of the pharmaceutical drug supply chain and an academic. The associations before the subcommittee were: PhRMA, representing branded drug manufacturers; Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO), representing biotechnology companies; Association for Accessible Medicines, representing generic manufacturers; Pharmaceutical Care Management Association, representing pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs); Healthcare Supply Chain Association, representing traditional health care group purchasing organizations; Healthcare Distribution Alliance, representing distributors; the National Community Pharmacists Association, representing community pharmacists; and ERISA Industry Committee, representing employers.

During the hearing, members asked questions on a range of topics to better understand the drivers of drug prices including competition, vertical consolidation, price transparency, biosimilar interchangeability, PBM practices, and more. While most members praised the recent enactment of bipartisan PBM reforms, they said that more needs to be done to improve the affordability of prescription drugs, without jeopardizing innovation.

The witnesses all highlighted the ways in which their member companies work to lower patients' drug costs, and pointing to other stakeholders as responsible for increasing costs.

More information is available here.

Additional information is available in the WCEY Health Alert, attached below.