The nation’s top pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) lobbying group is going on the offensive, stepping up its advocacy efforts against the pharmaceutical industry after Congress passed a PBM industry overhaul last winter. The pharmaceutical industry spent years pointing fingers at pharmacy benefit managers as the reason for high drug costs, and Congress finally was able to get PBM reforms over the finish line as part of a larger government funding bill. David Marin, CEO of the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA), acknowledged in an interview that the PBM industry had essentially operated in the shadows for too long. As lawmakers focus on affordability ahead of November’s midterm elections, PBMs want to make sure they are not being left out of the discussions. Previously, Marin said the industry wasn’t responsive to the increasing pressures for change and spe…

“We do not want to be opaque.” Marin, who took the job in January, said the PCMA in years past spent far too long letting pharmaceutical companies turn PBMs into the boogeyman, which made the industry ripe to be targeted for reform. “I think it’s safe to say that for too long we were in a defensive posture, and that’s not what policymakers are looking for,” Marin said. “I think there was relentless energy from Big Pharma to shine a light on PBMs, and they were effective. It’s a complicated business and industry, and I think it took that relentless effort” for PBMs to be the bad guys. The legislation imposed what critics said were much needed changes to the PBM industry.