Three significant pharmacy benefit managers are being sued by the FTC for allegedly utilizing improper rebate tactics to artificially inflate the cost of insulin.
Millions of diabetic patients are impacted by the case, as their out-of-pocket expenses for life-saving prescriptions are greater.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has launched a complaint against OptumRx, Caremark, and Express Scripts, three significant pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), in an effort to address the escalating cost of insulin.
Over 8 million Americans with diabetes rely on insulin, and the corporations are accused in the complaint of exploiting a rebate system to artificially boost the price of the medication.
According to the FTC, the “Big Three” PBMs have put more emphasis on obtaining larger rebates from pharmaceutical companies than negotiating cheaper drug costs for patients.
Patients with diabetes now have substantial out-of-pocket expenses as a result of this practice, and many of them find it difficult to pay for their essential prescriptions.
There are actual repercussions from the higher prices. The FTC claims that a drug like Humalog, which was formerly only $21 in 1999, increased to $274 by 2017 as a result of the PBM rebate program.
The FTC and healthcare advocates dispute PBMs’ assertion that they negotiate lower prescription prices with manufacturers. The lawsuit aims to stop these unfair practices and give patients who are paying a lot for their medications some relief.
The FTC’s move coincides with an increasing chorus of opposition to PBMs from politicians and healthcare groups who claim that these middlemen are raising the cost of healthcare overall.
