Section 1. Study on pharmacy benefit manager audit practices
Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall, taking into account input from independent pharmacists, pharmacy benefit managers, health care providers, and appropriate agencies, conduct a study and submit to Congress a report on audit practices of pharmacy benefit managers with respect to drugs dispensed under the Medicare and Medicaid programs, group health plans, and group or individual health insurance coverage. Such report shall include the following:
(1) An assessment of the financial and operations impacts of current pharmacy benefit manager audit requirements on independent and other retail community pharmacies.
(2) An evaluation of the appropriateness of current purchase documentation timeframes in relation to medication shelf lives, including with respect to medications that have a shelf life approved by the Food and Drug Administration of 2 years or more.
(3) An evaluation of the transparency of current and historic pharmacy benefit manager audit requirements and recommendations on how to make such requirements more transparent and less burdensome on pharmacists.
(4) Best practices for pharmacy benefit manager audit processes that ensure fairness and ease burdens on pharmacists without compromising the integrity of the audit.