PBMs, Not Insurers, Lead Legal Challenge of Transparency Rule
Even after a rule requiring unprecedented price transparency from hospitals was upheld in federal court, it remained unclear whether the health insurance industry would go to court to challenge a similar rule targeting their industry. Now, just months from when the “transparency in coverage” regulation is slated to go into effect, that question has an unexpected answer: A lawsuit has been filed, but not by health insurers.
Instead, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and chief PBM trade group Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA) filed a pair of lawsuits seeking to strike down the transparency in coverage rule, which was proposed in November 2019 and finalized last October. While it isn’t clear yet how the courts will respond to the litigation, one health insurer trade group says plans are proceeding as though the rule will be implemented as written.