Lawmakers discuss proposed crackdown on drug price managers

HELENA – State Auditor Matt Rosendale on Friday pitched his proposal to crack down on drug-benefit managers and thus drive down prescription-drug costs in Montana – but ran into a wall of competition from health insurers and their drug managers.

“Believe me, if I thought this bill could lower my health-care (premium) payment, I would be telling you that,” said Bruce Spencer, a lobbyist for Express Scripts, one of the largest prescription drug-benefit managers in the country. “But it doesn’t. There’s nothing in Section 1 that lowers the cost of prescription drugs.”

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