Senate panel clears PBM reforms, safety-net hospital payments

WASHINGTON — A prominent Senate panel on Wednesday passed a new package of health policy reforms that would rein in certain pharmacy middlemen practices and ensure Medicare patients aren’t paying more than insurers do for medications.

The package passed the committee 26-0 with no amendments added. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) didn’t vote.

The package, crafted by Senate Finance Chair Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) also includes policy on a broad range of health care priorities, including substance abuse and mental health care and extensions to provider pay. The pharmacy benefit manager regulations build on a separate package of PBM regulations that the panel passed in July.

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