January 21, 2025

Indiana General Assembly
Senate Committee on Health and Provider Services
Indiana Statehouse, Room 431
200 West Washington Street
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204

Dear Senator,

On January 22, 2025, the Senate Committee on Health and Provider Services will hold a hearing on SB 140.  On behalf of the 33,803 members and supporters of the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW) in Indiana, I urge you to oppose SB 140, which would impose onerous regulations on pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), and the sponsors they serve including businesses, unions, state and local government, associations, and other organizations that provide health insurance to their employees or members.

PBMs save money for patients by negotiating lower prices on behalf of large groups.  Today, PBMs administer plans for more than 275 million Americans nationwide.  PBMs save payers and patients an average of $1,040 per person per year.  PBMs use various tools like rebates, pharmacy networks, drug utilization review, formularies, specialty pharmacies, mail-order, and audits to drive down drug costs, improve quality, increase patient medication adherence, and prevent fraud. 

PBMs require pharmacies to compete on price, thus lowering costs for patients.  SB 140 will add a new $10.62 dispensing fee to prescriptions filled in Indiana.  This fee will increase operating costs that will be passed onto consumers.  Provisions in the bill will also increase health care costs by banning cost-saving mail order and specialty pharmacy options for employers.  The legislation would further distort the medical marketplace with heavy-handed price controls and mandates and put Indiana business owners at a competitive disadvantage, including the benefits they would be able to offer their employees.  

For the above reasons, I urge you to oppose SB 140 and the burdensome regulations it would impose on businesses and employees, including increased costs for prescription drugs, throughout Indiana. 

Sincerely,
Tom Schatz
President, CCAGW