Federal Trade Commission urged to investigate pharmacy benefit managers to uncover anticompetitive practices which raise drug prices for consumers

Joining other consumer organizations, PIRG submitted comments to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to recommend a broad investigation into the anticompetitive practices used by pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs).  PBMS are the companies that manage the prescription drug portion of a health insurer’s benefits package. Our comments pointed out that “[i]n the past decade, PBM profits have more than doubled and increased to $28 billion annually.” 

We urged the FTC to conduct a deep dive investigation into the PBM industry to “capture allegations of widespread fraudulent and deceptive practices.” Immediate attention by the FTC  is necessary because the “PMB industry has avoided antitrust scrutiny for far too long.” 

Photo Credit: Chris Potter on Flickr