A bipartisan pharmacy benefit manager reform bill was approved in a Senate committee last week and sent to the full Senate.

"This bipartisan bill would not only put a stop to deceptive and opaque pricing schemes that burden consumers with higher prices, it also saves taxpayers $740 million," said Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, who introduced the legislation with Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash. "It's a win-win and warrants swift approval in Congress."

The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation approved the Pharmacy Benefit Manager Transparency Act by a vote of 18 to 9. Among the provisions of the bill:

• It would be illegal for PBMs to engage in "spread pricing" in which they charge health plans and payers more for a prescription drug than what they reimburse to the pharmacy.
• Clawing back payments made to pharmacies or increasing fees or lowering reimbursements to offset reimbursement changes in federally funded health plans would be prohibited.
• PBMs would be required to pass 100% of any rebate to the plan or payer and disclose the cost and reimbursement of drugs to the health plan.

The bill would reduce the budget deficit by $740 million over the next decade, according to a Congressional Budget Office estimate.