[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 4]
[House]
[Page 5640]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        PATIENTS DESERVE CHOICE

  (Ms. CHU asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Ms. CHU. Patients deserve choice when selecting the right 
prescriptions and pharmacies for them, but powerful, unregulated 
middlemen, known as pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs, are limiting 
their options, and most people don't even know it.
  These companies are telling doctors what drugs they can prescribe, 
limiting access to pharmacy patient care, and they're telling customers 
what pharmacies they can go to. That's not fair to patients. With the 
pending merger of two of the biggest PBMs, one company will control 
three-quarters of the private insurance market. This leaves us with 
even less competition, higher prices, and fewer choices.
  That's why I support the Medicare Pharmacy Transparency and Fair 
Auditing Act. This bill will ensure that PBMs are transparent and fair 
when dealing with local pharmacies, and it will help make sure the 
Medicare part D prescription program works for seniors. It will be an 
important step in protecting pharmacy choice for patients.

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