This overview is excerpted from Manatt on Health, Manatt’s subscription service that provides in-depth insights and analysis focused on the legal, policy and market developments.
During a July 23 hearing with executives of the nation’s three largest pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs)—Express Scripts, CVS Caremark, and OptumRx—members of the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability made clear their concern over the role of PBMs in drug pricing and the future of independent retail pharmacies.
Hours before the hearing, Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) released a committee report summarizing the committee’s investigation into the business practices of these three PBMs. The findings in the report largely mirror those addressed during the course of the hearing. Committee members emphasized what they saw as anticompetitive practices employed by PBMs.
At the hearing, the PBM executives defended their role in the drug supply chain, claiming that they support independent pharmacies and that their practices bring down costs for drug benefit sponsors. Committee members from both parties derided these claims and promised bipartisan action.
The Oversight Committee’s hearing and report are just the latest in a series of congressional inquiries and hearings focused on PBMs across several different committees in both the House and Senate during this session of Congress.
