Department of Labor proposes pharmacy benefit manager disclosure rule
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Department of Labor proposes pharmacy benefit manager disclosure rule Rule would require PBMs to disclose compensation to self-insured group health plans.
Pharmacy By Susan Morse , Executive Editor | January 30, 2026 | 10:41 AM Photo: South Agency/Getty Images The Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration has issued proposed regulation to make the fees and compensation pharmacy benefit managers receive more transparent.The proposed rule would require pharmacy benefit managers to disclose the rebates and other payments they receive from drug manufacturers; the compensation they receive when the price paid by the plan for a prescription drug exceeds the amount reimbursed to the pharmacy; and payments recouped from pharmacies in connection with prescription drugs dispensed to the plan. They would be required to disclose this information to plan fiduciaries, which could then assess the reasonableness of the compensation and fulfill their duties under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. Plan fiduciaries would be able to audit the accuracy of PBM disclosures. The proposed rule provides relief if a PBM fails to meet its obligations. The proposed rule is being issued under ERISA’s statutory service provider prohibited transaction exemption. Comments on the proposal are due 60 days from its Jan. 30 publication in the Federal Register. WHY THIS MATTERSThe proposed regulation is the most significant federal reform of prescription drug middlemen proposed in decades, said the Department of Labor.It advances President Donald Trump’s Executive Order “Lowering Drug Prices by Once Again Putting Americans First,” which directed federal agencies to take additional steps to create a fairer prescription drug market that lowers costs and ensures accountability across the healthcare system. THE LARGER TRENDPBMs have come under scrutiny as the middlemen in the prescription drug supply chain due to lack of transparency.A proposed House spending bill includes PBM reform.ON THE RECORDCynthia Fisher, founder and chairman of PatientRightsAdvocate.org (PRA) said by statement: “This price transparency and middlemen fee reveal will greatly lower costs for American workers, employers, and unions. This rule will address affordability and help eliminate the waste, fraud, and overcharges that health insurers have hidden for far too long. We urge the Trump administration to go even further and require full transparency for all middlemen and the entire health plan, which would reveal spread pricing and empower employers and unions to redirect savings toward wage growth and corporate earnings.” Email the writer: [email protected] Topic: Operations, Pharmacy, Policy and Legislation