NEW YORK (AP) — Pharmacy benefits manager Medco Health Solutions Inc. said it spent $1.1 million in the first quarter as it lobbied the federal government on numerous issues related to its business and health care reform.
The Franklin Lakes, N.J., company said its interests included the implementation of the March 2010 health care overhaul law. It lobbied the government information technology, privacy rules, chronic care, generic versions of biotech drugs, and what Medco called "anti-PBM" (or anti-pharmacy benefits management) legislation requiring the disclosure of pricing and contract information.
Other topics included the Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit, antitrust rules for independent pharmacies and the import of prescription drugs. Medco discussed changes to the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program. Medco handled the mail-order portion of the FEBHP drug benefit plan for the last several years, but earlier this year it announced the program was not renewing its contract with Medco. CVS Caremark Corp. will administer the mail-order benefit starting Jan. 1.
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Medco lobbied Congress, the White House, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Federal Trade Commission, the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Health Resources and Services Administration, the Congressional Budget Office, and the Office of Personnel Management.
Medco fills millions of mail-order prescriptions, and it lobbied the U.S. Postal Service, Postal Rate Commission, and Postal Regulatory Commission about proposals to limit mail delivery in the U.S. to save money.
The company disclosed its activity in a form filed April 20 with the House clerk's office. Medco's lobbying spending rose 13 percent from the first quarter of 2010, when it spent $960,000.
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