Congress Bans Pharmacist 'Gag Orders' on Drug Prices

President Trump signed two bills Wednesday prohibiting "gag order" clauses in contracts between pharmacies and insurance companies or pharmacy benefit managers, reports Kaiser Health News . Such provisions ban pharmacists from disclosing to customers when they can save money by paying the pharmacy's lower cash price instead of the price negotiated by their insurance plan. Congress passed both bills — one for Medicare and Medicare Advantage beneficiaries and another for commercial employer-based and individual policies — in September. "Banning gag clauses will make it easier for more Americans to afford their prescription drugs because pharmacists will be able to proactively notify consumers if a less expensive option may be available," said Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine). The change was one of the proposals in the president's plan to slash prescription drug prices released in May. The National Community Pharmacists Association's Ronna Hauser said many association members "say a pharmacy benefit manager will call them with a warning if they are telling patients it's less expensive" without insurance. A study published in JAMA in March estimated that people with Medicare Part D drug insurance overpaid for prescriptions by $135 million in 2013, and copayments in those plans were higher than the cash price for nearly one in four drugs purchased in 2013. Beneficiaries overpaid by more than 33 percent for 12 of the 20 most commonly prescribed drugs.