Rep. Jim Thompson

February 16, 2012 -- A bill that would require pharmacy benefit managers in Oregon to obtain a license, and renew it every year with the State Board of Pharmacy, has been moved out of the 2012 legislative session. House Bill 4122 will, instead, be the subject of a workgroup in the interim. That workgroup will be chaired by Rep. Jules Bailey (D-Portland) and Rep. Jim Thompson (R-Dallas), the co-chair of the House Health Care Committee. In an interview with The Lund Report, Thompson explained how those managers, or PBMs, fit into the pharmacy stream.

December 8, 2011 -- Rep. Jim Thompson (R-Dallas) announced the House and Senate Health Care committees will hold a special joint hearing on Tuesday, December 20 to receive public testimony on proposed healthcare reforms. Rep. Thompson, co-chair of the House Healthcare Committee, said the joint committee will address efforts to reform Oregon’s Medicaid system, known as “Healthcare Transformation,” as well as the proposal to create a new state health insurance exchange.