Large-Employer Groups Dispute PCMA Claim That Some Firms Prefer Spread Pricing

In a recent report, the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA), the trade group representing the largest PBMs, claimed that employers often choose spread pricing when they set up their PBM contracts. But employer plan sponsor groups, which have pushed for years for a federal ban on spread pricing, tell AIS Health that the way PCMA describes employers’ pharmacy benefit options is misleading — instead, the plan sponsor groups say, PBMs manipulate employers into spread pricing arrangements.

PBMs are under intense scrutiny in Congress: Legislators from both parties seem likely to pass more aggressive regulation of the industry this year. A ban on spread pricing is one of the key policies under consideration. Spread pricing is the business practice in which PBMs pay pharmacies dispensing a drug less than what they charge payers, with the PBM pocketing the difference. This can result in substantial revenue for the PBM, as the “spread” for the same pharmaceutical product can vary widely from pharmacy to pharmacy.