“I’ll be signing an executive order to ensure that we have reforms in place in the state of Florida to hold pharmacy benefit managers accountable and to drive transparency in prescription drug costs,” said DeSantis. The governor said that this is perhaps the first time ever that Florida has been proactive in taking steps toward lowering prescription drug costs for the state’s residents. “This executive order is really probably the first time Florida as a state has taken action to ensure that we’re saving money for Floridians regarding the middlemen and what happens with the prescription drug programs. I think it’s going to be very, very meaningful.”

According to the Agency for Health Care Administration Simone Marstiller, the executive order signed by the governor will hold the entire pharmaceutical industry accountable and make sure that Florida taxpayers are saving money on prescriptions. The executive order will allow state officials to fully inquire about how the pharmacy benefit managers (PBM) conduct business in Florida and what their overall impact is on the cost of prescription benefits. Pharmacy benefit managers “means a person or entity doing business in this state which contracts to administer prescription drug benefits on behalf of a health insurer or a health maintenance organization to residents of this state,” according to Florida statute. Read more