Crs Report for Congress - Pharmacy Benefit Managers: November 29, 2000 - Rl30754 (Paperback)

The provision of prescription drug coverage to Medicare beneficiaries was a major issue in the 106th Congress, and is likely to continue to be a major issue in the 107th Congress. Much attention is being focused on this issue because of reports about the financial burden that prescription drug prices place on the elderly. Several legislative proposals introduced in the 106th Congress, which may be reintroduced in the 107th Congress, seek to create a prescription drug benefit for the Medicare population that is managed by private entities, including pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs). All of the major bills introduced in the 106th Congress that would provide a prescription drug benefit for seniors would use private entities (including PBMs) to manage the benefit. Under S. 2342 (the President's bill), S. 2541 (the "MEND" bill), and S. 2758 (the "MOD" bill), the federal government would provide prescription drug coverage to Medicare beneficiaries, but the benefit would be managed by private entities, such as PBMs. H.R. 4680 and S. 2807 (the "Breaux-Frist" bill) would allow private entities contracted by the federal government (likely insurers, or other riskbearing companies) to provide coverage; these private entities could use PBMs to manage the benefit. A PBM manages ...