Drug Middlemen Aim to Avoid New Rules With Voluntary Changes

Source: Bloomberg

September 24, 2025 at 3:39 PM EDT
Updated on September 24, 2025 at 7:10 PM EDT


Pharmacy middlemen are working on a proposal to voluntarily change some of their business practices in an effort to avoid new regulation from the Trump administration, according to people familiar with the discussions.

The main lobbying group that represents so-called pharmacy benefit managers, the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association, has drafted proposals to bring to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, according to a document viewed by Bloomberg News.

Among the proposals under discussion are ensuring patients don’t pay more than a pharmacy would charge to someone without insurance, increasing the use of lower-cost versions of expensive biologic drugs and boosting payments to rural and independent pharmacies.

CMS regularly meets with health-care industry members but doesn’t comment on the details of those talks, CMS spokesperson Catherine Howden said in a written statement. PCMA spokesperson Greg Lopes said it’s regularly in communication with the administration and Congress “to find ways to achieve everyone’s shared goal to lower drug costs for patients.”

Read more: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-09-24/drug-middlemen-seek-to-head-off-new-rules-with-voluntary-changes