Carter speaks in the Capitol in February 2022. Photo: Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call
Congress' biggest PBM critic is now in talks with a Democrat about legislation targeting the industry.
Driving the news: Rep. Buddy Carter is working with Rep. Jake Auchincloss on the issue, the lawmakers confirmed to Axios, though the discussions are in the early stages.
Why it matters: Having a bipartisan partner would make Carter's push to regulate PBMs more likely to gain momentum.
- Carter told Axios there are "about six" members of Congress in both parties involved in the talks right now, but he expects that number to grow.
- "We are the bipartisan leads; he's the Democratic lead, I'm the Republican lead," Carter said of Auchincloss. "But we are certainly not the only ones working on it. We've got a group of both Republicans and Democrats who have the same goal in mind, and that is to give citizens relief in prescription drug pricing."
Yes, but: There is no legislation yet, and it's unclear if any will end up coming to fruition. Auchincloss struck a more cautious note than Carter, saying he's "still in research and exploration mode."
- It's unclear what exactly any bill would do. Carter said a measure would include "transparency" for PBMs, which previous measures have sought as well.
- Asked if the measure would go beyond transparency to ban or restrict certain PBM practices, Carter said that "we're still working on it."
- Auchincloss said he wanted to "to go after monopolistic behavior in the drug pricing supply chain and make sure that we're passing on savings at the pharmacy counter to patients."
- Rep. Deborah Ross is also involved in the talks. "I’ve been having productive conversations with members of both parties about crafting bipartisan legislation to prevent PBMs from impeding patient access to needed medications," she said in a statement.
Between the lines: If health care ends up at the center of a pitched debt ceiling battle, it could make it harder for the parties to work together in other areas.
Flashback: Auchincloss made some waves among Democrats in 2021 during the push for Medicare to negotiate drug prices when he co-led a letter calling for legislation to be bipartisan and saying it should "preserve our invaluable innovation ecosystem” in addition to lowering costs.
- But Auchincloss also made clear he would vote for Democrats' drug pricing legislation, in contrast to his co-lead on the letter, Rep. Scott Peters, who was a question mark for months as he negotiated changes.
