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The next time you walk into your pharmacy, you may not get the best deal on your prescription, but don’t blame the pharmacist.

Many allegedly have contracts with behind-the-scenes middlemen that contain “gag clauses” preventing them from telling you that paying cash for a prescription might cost less than your health insurance copayment. And pharmacists can face significant penalties if they disclose the difference.

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So now, a trio of senators has introduced a pair of bills — the Patient Right to Know Drug Prices Act and the Know the Lowest Price Actthat would prohibit pharmacy benefit managers from using these gag clauses in order to pocket the difference.

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  • Georgia enacted just such an “anti-gag” law last year. It not only prohibits PBMs from gagging pharmacists about lower prices, it also prohibits copays that are higher than what the pharmacy is paid for a drug. Georgia leading the nation — cool, huh?

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