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Iowa Legislature Adjourns – SF 2231 Update
The Iowa Legislature adjourned late last night, finally closing business at 12:16 AM this morning. The final piece of legislation that was addressed was SF 2231, IPA's PBM bill.
We wish we could report they saved the best for last with this priority piece of legislation. Unfortunately, despite overwhelming bipartisan support among Senators, we were unable to overcome the grip of the insurance lobby in the State Senate. The Senate passed a stripped-down bill that will allow for additional data collection authority at the Insurance Division along with transparency and clawback provisions, but removed the bulk of the provisions that provide meaningful protections for patients and for pharmacies.
We are thankful to all of our members who answered the call to champion PBM reform at the State Capitol this session.
Senator Mike Klimesh, who floor managed the bill, worked tirelessly to produce meaningful legislation for PBM reform. Concerns raised by Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver (R-Ankeny), along with Senators Costello (R-Imogene), Edler (R-State Center) and Rozenboom (R-Oskaloosa), ultimately undermined the months of work on this legislation in the Senate and unanimous support in the House.
We also want to acknowledge Representative Brian Best, 2022 Good Governance Award recipient, for everything he has done to support meaningful PBM reform.
In floor speeches, legislators made clear they intend to fight another round next session. In the interim, please continue to make your voices heard by your legislators about what the failure to pass meaningful PBM reform means for your practice.
IPA will continue working towards meaningful PBM reform with all stakeholders and will have more information forthcoming about how pharmacies can provide data to the Iowa Insurance Division.
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