Maria Cantwell: “I rise today to offer the Cantwell- Lincoln Prescription drug transparency amendment to S. 1, the medicare prescription…”

“I rise today to offer the Cantwell- Lincoln Prescription drug transparency amendment to S. 1, the medicare prescription drug bill. I thank my cosponsor, Senator Lincoln, for working with me on this important amendment that will help protect consumers against high prescription drug prices. This amendment does three things. First, it requires any PBM contracting with Medicare to disclose to the Department of Justice how much of the rebates and discounts negotiated for Medicare are being passed back. Second, the disclosure of these financial arrangements to the Department of Justice provides an incentive for PBMs to return as much of that savings as possible to Medicare, which will in turn, help reduce the high cost of prescription drugs. Finally, it prohibits a pharmaceutical company from owning a pharmacy benefit manager, an inherent conflict of interest. By requiring transparency, the Cantwell-Lincoln amendment works to prevent collusion on pricing and helps ensure seniors are not paying unnecessarily high prices for their medications.”