Why It Matters

The Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy reported $130,000 in in-house lobbying expenditures for the first quarter of 2026, continuing a pattern of dual-track advocacy that pairs internal staff with an outside firm.

AMCP represents pharmacists and practitioners operating within managed care settings, including health plans and pharmacy benefit management organizations. The group has been pushing for Medicare and Medicaid coverage of prescription digital therapeutics and for Medicaid value-based purchasing reforms. With Congress actively debating PBM reform, drug pricing, and Medicaid policy, the organization is working to ensure managed care pharmacy interests are represented as major healthcare legislation moves through the 119th Congress.

By The Numbers

The first quarter 2026 Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy lobbying disclosure is one of two filings the organization submitted this quarter. The companion filing was made by outside firm Tiber Creek Group Inc., which reported separate lobbying activity on AMCP's behalf.

This in-house filing reported $130,000 in lobbying expenditures. That is up from $120,000 reported in the fourth-quarter 2025 in-house filing. Looking further back, AMCP's in-house lobbying expenditures have ranged from $100,000 to $200,000 per quarter since at least mid-2024, with a peak of $200,000 reported in the third-quarter 2025.

The in-house lobbying team consists of five lobbyists who have remained consistent across filings:

  • Tyler Thorne
  • Adam Colborn
  • Vicky Jucelin
  • Geni Tunstall
  • Tom Casey

Congressional background records indicate that Tyler Thorne previously interned for Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-CA-34), and Tom Casey served as Investigative Counsel on the House Natural Resources Committee during the 106th Congress. No congressional staff records were identified for the remaining three lobbyists on the in-house team.

AMCP is not a new entrant to lobbying. The organization has maintained both in-house and external lobbying operations across multiple congressional cycles. The Tiber Creek Group has served as its outside firm throughout the period covered by available disclosure records.

The Agenda

The first-quarter 2026 in-house congressional lobbying disclosure lists no specific issues or legislation. The specific_issues_lobbied field in this filing is blank.

However, prior in-house filings have consistently cited "Access to PDTs Act - Medicare/Medicaid coverage of prescription digital therapeutics" as the primary lobbying focus. That language has appeared in every in-house quarterly filing going back through the available record.

The companion Tiber Creek filing for this same quarter does list specific legislative priorities, including the Access to Prescription Digital Therapeutics Act of 2025 and the MVP Act, a bill that would reform how value-based purchasing agreements function in Medicaid. Based on the consistent pattern across prior filings, those topics could be among the issues the in-house team is also engaged on, though this filing does not confirm that.

Broader Context

Several developments on Capitol Hill are relevant to the issues AMCP has historically engaged on.

On PBM reform, Congress passed provisions within the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2026 that addressed pharmacy benefit manager practices. That legislation has been a contested issue in the pharmaceutical industry lobbying space, with PBM trade groups opposing the package.

On the Prescription Information Modernization Act, AMCP was explicitly listed as a supporting organization in member communications from both Rep. Diana Harshbarger (R-TN-1) and Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ-11) in June 2025. That bipartisan legislation would allow prescribing information to be distributed electronically rather than in printed form.

On drug pricing more broadly, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) chaired a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in May 2025 examining competition issues in the prescription drug supply chain. His opening statement highlighted the concentration of the PBM market and rising drug costs, and pointed to legislative proposals including the Prescription Drug Pricing for the People Act and the PBM Transparency Act.

In December 2025, Rep. James Comer (R-KY-1) introduced bipartisan legislation targeting PBM reimbursement practices, calling for a transparent, market-based reimbursement model tied to the National Average Drug Acquisition Cost.

On GLP-1 coverage, the Trump administration announced a most-favored-nation pricing arrangement that AMCP noted could influence state Medicaid programs to expand coverage for GLP-1 medications used for chronic weight management.

The Bottom Line

AMCP's first-quarter 2026 in-house filing reflects a lobbying operation that has remained structurally consistent, with the same five-person team and a spending level in line with recent quarters. The blank issues field in this particular disclosure limits visibility into what the team is specifically working on, but the companion Tiber Creek filing and prior in-house filings point to a sustained focus on prescription digital therapeutics coverage and Medicaid value-based purchasing reform. Congressional activity on PBM reform and drug pricing provides an active backdrop for the organization's continued engagement.

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