**Kuster’s full remarks are available here**

Washington, D.C. — Today, the Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee advanced two pieces of legislation led by Congresswoman Annie Kuster (NH-02) to increase drug pricing transparency. The PBM Accountability Act would shed light on drug pricing decisions by requiring that pharmacy benefit managers, PBMs, file regular reports about how some drugs are covered, valued, and categorized. The Increasing Transparency in Generic Drug Applications Act would allow the FDA to provide feedback on proposed drug formulations to generic drug applicants and increase the availability of more affordable medications.

“Last year, 40% of Americans put off much-needed medical care because of cost — in the United States of America, that is unacceptable. It’s time for us to change the system,” said Kuster. “I’m proud that my bipartisan legislation to lower health care costs and increase transparency in drug pricing passed this subcommittee today. I will continue working to get these bills over the finish line for families in New Hampshire and across the country.”

Specifically, the PBM Accountability Act will: 

• Require PBMs to provide annual reporting to health insurance plan sponsors on:
• The drugs covered by health insurance plans that patients received;
• How much patients paid out of pocket to receive the drug;
• The amount received by the PBM in rebates, fees, and alternative discounts for certain drugs;
• The total net spending on prescription drugs by the health insurance plan; and
• Other information related to the spending on prescription drugs by health plans.
• Require a GAO report on the relationship between health insurance plans owning pharmacy networks and pharmacies;
• Empower the Secretaries of Health and Human Services, Labor, and Treasury to enforce reporting requirements through penalties.

Specifically, the Increasing Transparency in Generic Drug Applications Act will:

• Require the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to determine whether proposed new generic drugs are “qualitatively or quantitatively” the same as the brand drug.
• Allow the Secretary of HHS to inform the generic drug applicant how their drug differs from the brand drug. 

During the markup, Kuster also spoke in defense of the 340B Drug Discount program and advocated for increased support for our community health centers. 

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