Bills sharpen rules on pharmacy drug prices
♦ Three measures pass the Georgia House and move to the Senate.
William Gerald Tharp went to Heaven on March 1, 2020, after a long battle with cancer.
Bill was born May 10, 1949, in Ogallalah, Nebraska. He married the love of his life, Beth Bruner, on June 22, 1974. Following his graduation from William Jewell College, he lived in Boulder and Steamboat Springs, Colo., for 20 years.
Bill enjoyed skiing, traveling, the beach and playing golf. He was an outstanding bowler with a record of 13 perfect 300 games. After working for 25 years at the Rocky Mountain Hydroelectric Project, he retired as the Plant Manager in 2017.
Bill was a kind, gentle, humble man who lived out his faith in Jesus through his daily actions. He was a faithful, loving husband, father and friend who was loved by all who knew him.
He is survived by Beth Tharp, his wife of 45 years; sons Gabe (Becky) and Blake; his brother, Dick; and grandsons Kieran and Wylie.
A Celebration of Life will be held at First Presbyterian Church, Rome, Georgia, on March 11 at 1:00 PM. Visitation will follow in the Fellowship Hall.
,Q OLHX RI ÀRZHUV Grqdtions may be made to First Presbyterian Church, 101 East Third Avenue, Rome, GA 30161; Church Health, PO Box 1493, Edmonds, WA 98020; or United Indian Mission International, PO Box 6429, Glendale, AZ 85312-6429 - designated to the Cheek Travel Project.
Legislation aimed at tightening rules on third-party companies that play a role in negotiating pharmaceutical drug prices between insurers and local pharmacies in Georgia passed the state House Wednesday.
Companies called pharmacy benefits managers act as go-betweens for prescribers and insurance companies that contract with health insurers to negotiate lower drug prices for patients.
But critics accuse them of muddling up the process, prompting increases in drug prices and unnecessary delays in filling prescriptions.
Three bills cleared the House by near-unanimous votes Wednesday to increase regulations on pharmacy benefits managers. They now head to the Georgia Senate.
House Bill 946, by Rep. David Knight, R-griffin, would require pharmacy benefits managers to set prices within 10% of a nationally used average and require them to undergo financial audits by the state Department of Insurance.
It would also require all rebates from drug makers to be distributed to patients, rather than allowing pharmacy benefits managers to keep a portion.
Knight’s bill would also ramp up penalties against certain fees and the practice
ATLANTA —
of steering, in which PBMS direct patients to use associated pharmacies with potentially higher costs.
The practice was prohibited last year in Georgia, but Knight’s bill proposes levying a new fine against PBMS that disregard the state antisteering law.
Speaking from the floor, Knight said his bill would crack down on the “heinous practices” of pharmacy benefits managers.
“We will not take this in Georgia anymore,” Knight said. “It is not good health care policy. It is not good for the patients and it is not good for providers.”
The bill passed by a 165-1 vote with Rep. Matt Gurtler, R-tiger, voting against it.
Knight’s bill mirrors separate legislation filed in the Senate by Sen. Dean Burke, R-bainbridge. That measure, Senate Bill 313, drew support from hospital and pharmacy groups as a way to keep smaller pharmacies in Georgia from going out of business amid increasing drug costs. It cleared the Senate Insurance and Labor Committee on Tuesday.
In previous committee hearings, PBMS have argued the bill would hamstring them when negotiating with big pharmaceutical companies for lower prices, potentially driving up costs overall by giving drug makers free rein to set prices as they please.
Industry representatives also said Burke’s measure ignores the influences of other players like drug manufacturers and wholesalers in the complex series of transactions that lead to final prescription costs.