Washington, D.C., December 19, 2025– The ERISA Industry Committee (“ERIC”) today applauded the introduction of the PBM Fiduciary Accountability, Integrity, and Reform (FAIR) Act. The legislation, introduced by Representatives Auchincloss (D-MA) and Mackenzie (R-PA), and Senators Marshall (R-KS), Kaine (D-VA), Grassley (R-IA) and Hassan (D-NH), clarifies that fiduciary standards for employer health benefit plans governed by the Employee Income and Retirement Security Act (ERISA) apply in full to pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) performing services on behalf of the plan.
“Employers, workers, and families should be able to rely on those who provide services to employer-sponsored group health plans, such as pharmacy benefit managers, to adhere to the same fiduciary duties the employer is held to. That means working to save money for patients, and doing what is right for the plan’s beneficiaries. Today’s unregulated, “honor system” approach is not working,” said Melissa Bartlett, Senior Vice President of Health Policy, ERIC. “When PBMs are performing services on behalf of the employer, they are standing in the shoes of the plan sponsor and should be held accountable. ERIC applauds Representatives Auchincloss and Mackenzie, and Senators Marshall, Kaine, Grassley, and Hassan for leaving politics at the door and taking a bipartisan approach to clarify this important extension of current law.”
ERIC has long advocated that Congress enact strong PBM transparency and accountability reforms to provide relief for employers and workers nationwide. In addition to applying fiduciary standards to PBMs, ERIC has called for PBM reforms to foster greater accountability and affordability by:
• Providing comprehensive PBM transparency.
• Banning so-called “spread pricing.”
• Requiring 100% pass-through of rebates and payments from drug manufacturers.
Bartlett added, “Today’s PBM industry practices often raise prices, and accountability is as rare as affordability. By applying the same fiduciary responsibilities to PBMs that plan sponsors follow, Congress can require them to act in patients’ best interests. This is a real chance for Congress to lower drug costs and help families nationwide, and they should act with urgency to make affordability a reality.”
In September 2024, ERIC released an issue brief, “PBM Reform: Deem PBMs a “Fiduciary” Under ERISA,” calling for PBMs to be deemed a “fiduciary” under ERISA. The brief shone a spotlight on how America’s unregulated PBM practices increase their profitability at the expense of employer-sponsored health plans, and called on Congress to extend fiduciary responsibilities to PBMs that perform services on behalf of the plans.
The bill can be found here and is S. 3549 and H.R. 6837.