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5/6/2025
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Senate OKs bills to reduce cost of prescription drugs, protect independent pharmacies
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STATE HOUSE — The Senate today approved bills from Sens. Lori Urso and Linda L. Ujifusa to reduce the cost of prescription drugs to Rhode Island patients and taxpayers by ending the use of “spread pricing” by private, for-profit corporations known as pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs).
Both bills are part of a nine-bill package of legislation announced by Senate leadership addressing health care accessibility and affordability.
Spread pricing is a practice wherein PBMs charge health plans and payers more for a prescription drug than what they reimburse to the pharmacy, and then keep the difference or “spread.” This practice leads to inflated drug costs borne by patients, providers and taxpayers.
Senator Urso’s bill (2025-S 0165A) would prohibit PBMs from utilizing “spread pricing” in their cost structures related to health care plans. Senator Ujifusa’s bill (2025-S 0173) would prohibit spread pricing by PBMs working for the managed care organizations and that manage Medicaid plans for approximately 90 percent of Medicaid enrollees.
“Ending spread pricing will lower the cost our medical system pays for prescription drugs, saving Rhode Island taxpayers money even if they don’t regularly use prescription drugs. It will also help our independent pharmacies who are often the hardest hit by a pricing spread that leaves them with reimbursements that barely cover their wholesale medication costs,” said Senator Urso (D-Dist. 8, Pawtucket). “I’m proud to work with my Senate colleagues to make health care more affordable and accessible in Rhode Island, starting with eliminating this common and unnecessary burden on payers and pharmacies.”
Said Senator Ujifusa (D-Dist. 11, Portsmouth, Bristol), “We must pursue PBM middlemen who take too many dollars away from actual health care providers, patients and taxpayers, and am pleased the Senate has taken the lead on this issue.”
According to the Wall Street Journal, Ohio found spread pricing came to an average of $5.70 per prescription, and the state could have saved roughly $4 per prescription by eliminating spread pricing.
The practice can also lead to unsustainably low reimbursements for independent pharmacies who are not partnered with a PBM, potentially putting these pharmacies out of business and limiting patient access, particularly in rural and underserved areas.
There has been a huge uptick in the number of states enacting new laws to control PBMs. According to the National Conference of State Legislators, in 2023, one-quarter of state bills to rein in prescription drug prices were aimed at PBMs. Between 2017 and 2023, laws regulating PBMs accounted for more than half of all prescription drug legislation enacted by states.
The National Community Pharmacists Association estimates that PBMs add about 30 cents per dollar to the price consumers pay for prescriptions.
The bill now heads to the House for consideration.
For more information, contact:
Meredyth R. Whitty, Publicist
State House Room 20
Providence, RI 02903
(401) 222-1923
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