NACDS announces support of enactment of Minnesota PBM audit legislation
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The National Association of Chain Drug Stores has expressed its support for enactment of the Pharmacy Audit Integrity Program (HF 1236/SF 973) by Minnesota governor Mark Dayton. The law will establish standards in the pharmacy audit process conducted by pharmacy benefit management companies in the state of Minnesota.
NACDS sent a letter of support to Dayton prior to enactment, emphasizing the importance of this legislation in ensuring transparency in the PBM audit process.
“The legislation places reasonable limits and terms on the performance and conduct for pharmacy audits such as PBM notification to pharmacies if the terms of a contract are changed, providing advance notice of an audit so that the pharmacy can have appropriate records and staff available to assist in the audit and setting appropriate limits on the scope, timing, and performance of audits so that audits are not disruptive to pharmacy services,” NACDS president and CEO Steve Anderson stated in the letter. “Importantly, the legislation also places appropriate limits on payment to auditors and conditions on when a PBM may recoup money from the pharmacy, as well as establishes an appeals process for pharmacies to contest audit results.”
NACDS has also hailed the enactment of PBM audit legislation (HB 1490) in Mississippi. Governor Phil Bryant signed the bill into law on April 24, following swift legislative action after the bill was introduced on Feb. 23 by Rep. Eugene Forrest Hamilton. Among other provisions, the law will establish procedures for conducting an audit under the state’s Pharmacy Audit Integrity Act, and authorize monetary penalties to PBMs for noncompliance with the Act.
NACDS has endorsed federal legislation that seeks to preserve pharmacy choice for patients and takes additional steps to prevent threats to pharmacy patient care. The bipartisan Pharmacy Competition and Consumer Choice Act — S. 1058 and H.R. 1971, sponsored by Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., and Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., respectively — includes provisions requiring transparency by PBMs in pharmacy audits.
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