The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on Friday filed lawsuits against three major prescription drug benefit managers (PBMs) and their affiliates, alleging they engaged in a scheme to artificially inflate the price of insulin drugs.
The complaint targets the “Big Three” — Cigna's ESI, CVS Health's Caremark and UnitedHealth Group's Optum — and their affiliated group purchasing organizations (GPOs). According to According to a press release, the PBMs named in the lawsuit “are abusing their economic power by manipulating competition in the pharmaceutical supply chain in their favor, forcing patients to pay more for life-saving drugs.” (Related: 'This is an obvious lie': Fox News anchor fires back with receipts in Biden campaign spat)
The FTC alleges that drug list prices could be artificially inflated as a result of “unfair” kickback schemes created by PBMs, and that insulin available to patients at lower prices was “systematically eliminated” in favor of more expensive alternatives.
“These tactics have enabled PBMs and GPOs to line their pockets while forcing certain patients to pay high out-of-pocket costs for their insulin therapy,” the FTC said in a press release.
According to the FTC, the “Big Three” control approximately 80% of all drug prescriptions in the United States.
Rahul Rao, Deputy Director of the FTC's Bureau of Competition, statement On Friday, he pointed to insulin manufacturers, saying PBMs are not the only “party” potentially responsible for the problem of high drug prices.
NEW YORK, NY – JULY 23: Prescription medications displayed at a NYC discount pharmacy in Manhattan
“Millions of Americans with diabetes need insulin to live, but for many of these vulnerable patients, the cost of insulin has skyrocketed over the past decade, in part due to powerful PBMs and their greed,” Rao said. “As drug gatekeepers, Caremark, ESI and Optum have milked millions of dollars from patients who need these life-saving medications.”
“In today's case, the Commission is focusing this important enforcement action against PBMs and their affiliated GPOs that sit at the heart of the drug reimbursement system,” Rao said in a statement. “However, the Competition Bureau remains deeply concerned about the role pharmaceutical companies play in driving up prices of life-saving drugs like insulin, and we hope that the full factual record developed in this case and those brought by state attorneys general will establish the appropriate standard of acceptable conduct in this area.”
The FTC, Cigna, CVS Health and United Health Group did not immediately respond to requests for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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