Under the Magnifying Glass: A Wave of Drug Price Transparency

Recent federal actions by Congress, the Department of Labor, and the Federal Trade Commission have placed pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) transparency at the forefront of drug pricing policy. New disclosure requirements aim to help health plans better understand PBM revenues, drug costs, and potential conflicts of interest—and use that information to make more informed purchasing decisions and hold PBMs accountable.

But transparency alone may not lower costs in a highly concentrated pharmaceutical market. In this American Journal of Managed Care article, Anna Kaltenboeck and Mary Gens examine four considerations for successful transparency implementation to inform the next generation of drug pricing policy.