Prior to the holiday, U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley participated in a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing to examine competition in the prescription drug industry. In addition to previously leading the Judiciary Committee, Grassley serves as a senior member and former chairman of the Finance Committee, which oversees Medicare and Medicaid.

Lowering prescription drug costs and shining light on opaque pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) practices are among Grassley’s top priorities, as he discussed during his recent conversation on In Touch with South Central Iowa. He says PBMs manage every aspect of the prescription drugs benefit process – from setting prices, to deciding which drugs insurance plans cover and where they’re dispensed, controlling nearly 80 percent of the market.

Grassley says his bipartisan PBM Transparency Act with Commerce Committee Chairwoman Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) aims to prevent unfair, anti-competitive practices by PBMs.