A bipartisan bill introduced on Thursday is the latest move by Congress to rein in pharmacy benefit managers. Sens. Ron Wyden, R-Ore., and Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, the chair and ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, formally introduced the Modernizing and Ensuring PBM Accountability Act, or MEPA.

The committee, which has jurisdiction over Medicare and Medicaid, overwhelmingly approved the bill in July. The legislation would:

• Prohibit PBM compensation in Medicare from being tied to price;
• Increase audit and enforcement measures; and
• Aid independent community pharmacies that have struggled because of PBM practices.

The bill also calls for a survey of retail community pharmacy drug prices to determine the national average drug acquisition cost for covered outpatient drugs. It would include price concessions to the pharmacy, such as discounts and rebates.