The Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously approved the bipartisan Prescription Pricing for the People Act of 2025. The Act requires the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to issue a final report on the prescription drug market. The report must include the overall impact of how pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) and other third parties affect how much patients and insurance companies pay for drugs.
The FTC released an interim report on these issues in July 2024. However, the interim report contained no policy recommendations. The Act would require the FTC to include recommendations in its final report about increasing transparency and competition in the prescription drug market.
The Act suggests that the Trump administration intends to oversee the prescription drug sector and other healthcare-related industries. Furthermore, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recently set up an Anticompetitive Regulations Task Force. The purpose of the Task Force is to elicit suggestions from the public about regulations that may limit competition in the healthcare sector. The DOJ also has filed a “statement of interest” in ongoing litigation involving doctors and hospitals suing insurance companies and a network management firm over the level of reimbursement for out-of-network care.
An aggressive antitrust approach by the federal government could force pharmaceutical manufacturers and pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) to give employers more information. This approach also could require PBMs to pass on savings to employer plans.
Conversely, aggressive antitrust enforcement also could weaken or remove regulations that have reduced the amount employer plans pay to doctors and hospitals. Therefore, the impact of proactive antitrust enforcement by the federal government could have mixed results for employee benefit plans.
HBL has experience in all areas of benefits and employment law, offering a comprehensive solution to all your business benefits and HR/employment needs. We help ensure you are in compliance with the complex requirements of ERISA and the IRS code, as well as those laws that impact you and your employees. Together, we reduce your exposure to potential legal or financial penalties. Learn more by calling 470-571-1007.
Hall Benefits Law, LLC
