How the Delinking Model Can Drive Transparency, Avoid PBM Manipulation | NCPA 2025

With the introduction of HB 1094, the state of Colorado is attempting to “delink” pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) compensation and prescription drug prices. While the law is a first-of-its-kind statute, some experts believe this can add significant amounts of transparency to the PBM industry while others foresee administrative and logistical hurdles that come with the delinking model.

“Colorado's model can make sense,” Dae Lee, PharmD, Esq, CPBS, shareholder with Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney, told Drug Topics. “I don't know how it's going to play out on the operational side, but it's a good start in order to reduce the drug spend that right now [is] being solely managed by the PBMs.”

At the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) 2025 Annual Convention & Expo, Lee and his colleague, Lucas Morgan, Esq, also a shareholder with Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney, joined Drug Topics to discuss PBM reform on both the state and federal levels. In this part of the interview, they discussed Colorado’s most recent PBM reform and what it could mean for pharmacies and patients if more states, or even the federal government, adopt similar laws.

Learn from Lee and Morgan, pharmacy law experts and common Drug Topics contributors, about the ever-evolving PBM landscape and find out how they believe PBM reform will play out in the near future.

While they focused on delinking PBMs and their incentives to manage high-priced drugs, stay tuned for more from our interview with the duo as they explored a variety of recent PBM reform and what it might mean for the greater community pharmacy industry.

Read more of our coverage from NCPA 2025.

Don’t get left behind: Sign up today for our free Drug Topics newsletter and get the latest drug information, industry trends, and patient care tips delivered straight to your inbox.