US FTC files lawsuit against 3 health companies over inflating insulin prices
Date
9/22/2024 9:36:51 AM
(MENAFN) The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a lawsuit on Friday against three major prescription drug benefit managers, accusing them of inflating insulin prices and profiting at the expense of vulnerable patients. The companies named in the lawsuit are CVS Health’s Caremark, Cigna’s Express Scripts (ESI), and United health Group’s Optum. According to the FTC, these companies engaged in unfair practices that raised the list prices of insulin, restricted patient access to more affordable alternatives, and shifted the financial burden of high prices onto patients.
The lawsuit alleges that the companies, along with their respective group purchasing organizations—Zinc Health Services, Ascent Health Services, and Emisar Pharma Services—abused their market power to distort competition within the pharmaceutical supply chain. This manipulation led to patients paying more for essential life-saving medications like insulin. The FTC claims the companies created a "perverse drug rebate system," prioritizing high rebates from drug manufacturers over more affordable insulin options.
The FTC further contends that even when lower-priced insulin became available, the companies systematically excluded these more affordable alternatives in favor of maintaining high-priced, highly rebated insulin products. This practice, the regulator argued, harmed vulnerable patients by making life-saving drugs more expensive and difficult to access.
The companies being sued, collectively known as the "Big Three," control about 80 percent of all prescription drug management in the US, giving them significant influence over drug pricing. The FTC's action highlights growing concerns about the role of pharmaceutical benefit managers in driving up drug prices and limiting patient access to affordable medications.
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