FTC Sues CVS, Cigna, UnitedHealth Over Inflated Insulin Prices, Rebate Programs

Sep 20, 2024, 04:39 PM

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has filed a lawsuit against the three largest pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) in the United States: CVS Health’s Caremark, Cigna’s Express Scripts, and UnitedHealth’s OptumRx. The FTC accuses these PBMs of artificially inflating the prices of insulin through illegal rebate programs, which have driven up costs for diabetic patients. The lawsuit alleges that these practices have spiked the cost of insulin by over 1,200 percent over the past two decades, allowing the PBMs to profit significantly, reaping millions of dollars at the expense of patients. The FTC also noted that while the lawsuit does not currently name insulin drugmakers Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk, and Sanofi, it reserves the right to take action against them in the future. These three PBMs administer 80% of medication in the US.