NACDS applauds enactment of Alabama PBM audit legislation

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A law that will establish standards in the pharmacy audit process conducted by pharmacy benefit managers in the state of Alabama has received the applause of the National Association of Chain Drug Stores.

NACDS on Friday offered its appreciation for the enactment of the Pharmacy Audit Integrity Act by Alabama governor Robert Bentley.



Among its provisions, SB 383 establishes uniform standards for the auditing of pharmacy records and includes requiring two weeks written notice of an audit. The law also requires audits that involve clinical or professional judgment be conducted in consultation with a pharmacist and establishes an appeals process.

 

“We thank Governor Bentley for signing this important pro-patient, pro-pharmacy legislation to curb tactics used by some PBMs that take away from the important business of improving patient health and making healthcare delivery more efficient and cost-effective,” NACDS president and CEO Steve Anderson said. “We thank the Alabama Pharmacy Association for their leadership in helping to ensure transparency in the PBM audit process.”

 

NACDS has endorsed federal legislation that seeks to preserve pharmacy choice for patients and takes additional steps to prevent threats to pharmacy patient care. The bipartisan Pharmacy Competition and Consumer Choice Act — S. 1058 and H.R. 1971, sponsored by Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., and Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., respectively — includes provisions requiring transparency by PBMs in pharmacy audits.

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