President Trump Signs NDAA, Collins TRICARE Language into Law

President Trump Signs NDAA, Collins TRICARE Language into Law

“PBMs keep their operations in the shadows in order to take advantage of patients and taxpayers. I worked to have this language included as part of the NDAA to help America’s service members and their families get the medicines they need while keeping drug prices appropriately competitive for patients and taxpayers under the TRICARE program.”

WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump today signed the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) into law. The NDAA included language authored by Rep. Doug Collins (R-Ga.) to require pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) to update their MAC pricing lists every seven days so that those lists reflect market prices accurately.

Without this provision, PBMs routinely wait weeks and months to update the MAC reimbursement lists, enabling them to underpay pharmacies and overcharge TRICARE.

“PBMs keep their operations in the shadows in order to take advantage of patients and taxpayers. I worked to have this language included as part of the NDAA to help America’s service members and their families get the medicines they need while keeping drug prices appropriately competitive for patients and taxpayers under the TRICARE program,” said Collins.

Collins’s provision can be found in section 714 of the NDAA and took effect immediately upon becoming law.