The Department of Labor must go even further—transparency must be forged across the broader healthcare ecosystem
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Americans are paying more for health care every year, yet much of the system that determines healthcare costs behind closed doors. As the public comment deadline closes tonight at midnight, Independent Women has submitted a formal comment supporting the U.S. Department of Labor’s proposed rule requiring pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) to disclose their compensation to employer- and union-sponsored health plans.
While the proposed rule represents a critical step toward increasing transparency in the prescription drug supply chain and strengthening oversight of health plan spending for more than 150 million Americans, Independent Women is calling for the Department of Labor to expand transparency in health care.
Independent Women’s comment letter, written by Dr. Monique Yohanan, Senior Health Fellow at Independent Women, emphasizes that without full transparency into these vital programs, facilitators cannot adequately assess whether PBM compensation is reasonable or aligned with the interests of plan participants.
While praising the proposed rule, Independent Women says limiting transparency requirements to PBMs alone risks leaving the majority of healthcare spending outside the scope of effective fiduciary review.
“Independent Women appreciates the Department of Labor’s efforts to improve transparency in pharmacy benefit management and encourages the Department to finalize the proposed rule,” the letter states. “We further encourage the Department to build upon this framework to ensure that plan fiduciaries have comprehensive visibility across all service providers and access to the detailed data necessary to fulfill their obligations under ERISA.”
READ THE FULL LETTER HERE.
DEMAND TRANSPARENCY: END THE HEALTHCARE BLACK BOX
Through its comment drive, Demand Transparency: End the Healthcare Black Box—launched less than one month ago—Independent Women has mobilized thousands of its members across the country to submit public comments to the regulatory docket in support of the Department of Labor’s proposed rule requiring PBM transparency but calling for the Department to strengthen the rule by expanding transparency requirements across the entire healthcare supply chain.
Stronger transparency will help employers and plan sponsors:
- Negotiate fair contracts
- Lower healthcare costs
- Improve employee benefits
- Redirect administrative waste into higher wages
MAKE AMERICA HEALTHIER
As part of its broader effort to restore trust in health care, Independent Women continues to push its MAHA Moms Demand Transparency campaign.
By empowering patients with tangible facts, Independent Women has focused on exposing hidden costs in the healthcare system, promoting nuance and open discussion with healthcare providers, and promoting policies that ensure healthcare dollars are spent on patient care—not misaligned incentives.
Independent Women continues to facilitate a movement demanding transparency as an essential first step in truly making America healthy again.
Read more from Independent Women on healthcare price transparency here:
- The Washington Post | I’m a doctor. I shouldn’t receive better health care than patients.
- RealClearHealth | A New Republican Vision for Health Care
- Washington Examiner | HSAs can shift power to patients. Transparency must come first
- The Hill | Two health care reforms Congress can deliver now
- The Center Square | Who really benefited from the ACA expansion?
- The Daily Signal | Trump’s Health Care Cost Transparency Action is a Dose of Good News
- RealClearHealth | GOP, It’s Time to Talk Health Care — Before Voters Decide You Don’t Care
To read more on Independent Women’s work on healthcare price transparency, you can find out more HERE.
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