Top three insurers reaped $7.3 billion through their drug middlemen’s markups, FTC says
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The three largest drug middlemen inflated the costs of numerous life-saving medications by billions of dollars over the past few years, the Federal Trade Commission said in a report Tuesday. Limited time: Save 25% on NBC News subscription Get exclusive reporting, live Q&As and ad-free reading. The top pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) — CVS Health’s Caremark Rx, Cigna’s Express Scripts and UnitedHealth Group’s OptumRx — generated roughly $7.
AI Summary
Main Idea: The FTC says CVS Health, Cigna and UnitedHealth Group’s drug middlemen took in about $7.3 billion from large markups on prescription drugs over about five years.
Key Points:
- The report says the three biggest pharmacy benefit managers marked up many medicines far above their acquisition costs.
- The sharpest increases hit generic drugs used for cancer, HIV, heart disease and multiple sclerosis.
- The FTC says the companies may be steering more business to their own affiliated pharmacies, raising antitrust concerns.
- The three companies rejected the report’s conclusions and said the FTC drew unfair and misleading claims.
Impact on the People
Negative Impact
CVS, Cigna, and UnitedHealth’s drug middlemen may be raising costs for patients, employers, and insurers, which can mean higher premiums and out-of-pocket bills for common medicines.
Positive Impact
FTC pressure could push reform, which may help lower drug costs and improve access for some households if lawmakers act.
How did each entity affect people?
Rate how each entity in this article affected the American people.
- Primary:Cignacompany
- Primary:CVS Healthcompany
- Primary:UnitedHealth Groupcompany
Candidate Entities9 candidates · 5 weighted vote min · 70% decision
- CignacompanyPrimaryEvaluated
Parent company of Express Scripts and one of the top three PBM actors in the story.
Include 0 (0%)Ignore 0 (0%)5 to threshold - CVS HealthcompanyPrimaryEvaluated
One of the three major pharmacy benefit managers highlighted for drug price markups.
Include 0 (0%)Ignore 0 (0%)5 to threshold - UnitedHealth GroupcompanyPrimaryEvaluated
Parent company of OptumRx and one of the top three PBM actors in the story.
Include 0 (0%)Ignore 0 (0%)5 to threshold - Caremark RxcompanyMajorAI selected
CVS Health’s pharmacy benefit manager named in the FTC’s findings.
Include 0 (0%)Ignore 0 (0%)5 to threshold - Express ScriptscompanyMajorAI selected
Major pharmacy benefit manager accused by the FTC of markup and anticompetitive practices.
Include 0 (0%)Ignore 0 (0%)5 to threshold - OptumRxcompanyMajorAI selected
Major pharmacy benefit manager cited in the FTC report and company responses.
Include 0 (0%)Ignore 0 (0%)5 to threshold - Andrew FergusonpersonContextCandidate
Named commissioner tapped to lead the FTC in the incoming administration.
Include 0 (0%)Ignore 0 (0%)5 to threshold - Chair Lina KhanpersonContextCandidate
FTC chair referenced as part of the commission’s leadership and recent actions.
Include 0 (0%)Ignore 0 (0%)5 to threshold
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