July 16, 2024
After report, FTC to sue PBMs
On Tuesday, the Federal Trade Commission released a scathing, two-years-in-the-making report about PBMs — a report that concluded, “This vertically integrated and concentrated market structure has allowed PBMs to profit at the expense of patients and independent pharmacists.”
Then on Wednesday, the agency followed up, saying it’s going to sue the biggest PBMs(Caremark, Express Scripts, and OptumRx) over their tactics for negotiating prices for drugs including insulin. In case you missed it, that report didn’t pull punches:
“[PBMs’ power] can have dire consequences, with nearly 30 percent of Americans surveyed reporting rationing or even skipping doses of their prescribed medicines due to high costs.”
The interim report also finds that PBMs hold substantial influence over independent pharmacies by imposing unfair, arbitrary, and harmful contractual terms that can impact independent pharmacies’ ability to stay in business and serve their communities.
The lawsuit news was breaking at press time, so there isn’t much detail yet. Still, the spectre of the suit is good news in itself.
