On February 23, 2022, Governor Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI) signed House Bill (HB) 4348 into law. This important legislation, which is slated to go into effect January 1, 2024, establishes much needed protections for community and independent pharmacists, as well as specialty physicians practicing in Michigan.
Prior to the passage of HB 4348, Michigan was one of the only states without meaningful PBM regulation. As such, HB 4348 was necessary to protect providers, improve patient access, and reduce overall healthcare costs for Michiganders.
Throughout 2021 and into 2022, AmerisourceBergen State Government Affairs (AB SGA) worked closely with key customer groups and external stakeholders to support HB 4348. In doing so, AB SGA collaborated with Good Neighbor Pharmacy (GNP), Elevate Provider Network, and AmerisourceBergen Specialty GPO segments to engage Michigan legislators. AB SGA sent comment letters to the Senate Health Policy & Human Services Committee as well as the entire Michigan Senate. Additionally, AB SGA sent action alerts to our Michigan based independent and community pharmacists and specialty physician customers asking them to contact their elected officials and urge their support for this critical legislation. As enacted, HB 4348 establishes the following protections for Michigan providers:
- PBM transparency, including PBM licensing and Departmental oversight
- Mandatory good faith and fair dealing among all parties
- No "gag clauses" in PBM contracts
- Guardrails on PBMs' retroactive fees and post-adjudicative recoupments
- Protections for non-affiliate pharmacies and prohibitions on PBM "steering"
- Prohibitions on "spread pricing" in pharmacy contracts
- Requirements addressing MAC pricing transparency
- Establishment of fair pharmacy audits
AB SGA, GNP, Elevate, and AmerisourceBergen Specialty GPOs would like to thank our independent and community pharmacist and specialty physician customers who contacted their lawmakers and helped to achieve this positive outcome. In addition, we would like to recognize American Pharmacies for their critical advocacy work on HB 4348.