Representative Marta Bertoglio (HD75): Montana Pharmacy Protection Act

In this legislative session, I introduced House Bill 740 to help Montana’s pharmacies stand up to pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs). Decades ago, these industry giants started out filling a legitimate need in the processing and negotiating of prescription drug insurance benefits. However, they quickly grew and consolidated into some of the largest corporations in the United States, and now, just a few PMBs control virtually the entire drug benefits market.

In 2023, the top three PBMs made a collective $456.3 billion—or 20% of the national healthcare expenditure. One way they have accomplished t...