Harrisburg, PA – Today, Governor Josh Shapiro followed through on his commitment to increasing transparency and accountability to support Pennsylvanians and local pharmacies by signing bipartisan House Bill (HB) 1993 into law, providing stronger protections for patients in Pennsylvania and increased regulatory oversight of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs). PBMs are the hidden “middlemen” of the pharmaceutical supply chain. They negotiate the price of prescription drugs between health insurance companies and drug manufacturers, set compensation formulas for pharmacy payments, and determine patient co-payments. Despite their influence and outsized role in our healthcare system, many Pennsylvanians are unaware of the existence of PBMs.
During his 2024-25 budget address, Governor Shapiro called for legislation to reform the operations of PBMs to help Pennsylvanians impacted by the rising costs of prescription drugs and bring price transparency into the pharmaceutical supply chain. HB 1993 grants the Pennsylvania Insurance Department (PID) the authority to regulate PBM practices and contains several important protections that will benefit Pennsylvanians, resulting in lower out-of-pocket costs for prescription medication.
