DELTA TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has signed bipartisan bills designed to reduce prescription drug costs by regulating pharmacy benefit managers that oversee coverage for employers, insurers and others.
Parts of the laws take effect immediately while others, including licensure requirements and bans on “spread pricing” and “gag clauses,” begin in 2024.
Whitmer said Wednesday that the changes will improve transparency and "help lower inflated prices.”
Three pharmacy benefits managers, or PBMs, dominate the U.S. market: CVS Caremark, Express Scripts and OptumRx.
They have come under growing scrutiny for their role in drug costs. They say big drug companies are to blame.
