• The Federal Trade Commission on Friday sued three large U.S. health companies that negotiate insulin prices, arguing the drug middlemen boost their profits while “artificially” inflating costs for patients.
  • The suit targets the three biggest so-called pharmacy benefit managers, UnitedHealth Group’s Optum Rx, CVS Health’s Caremark and Cigna’s Express Scripts, and their affiliated group purchasing organizations.
  • The FTC may also recommend suing insulin manufacturers Eli Lilly, Sanofi and Novo Nordisk in the future.
  • Jackcooper@lemmy.world
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    16 hours ago

    Independent pharmacist here

    We’ve lost over 9 pharmacies a day in 2024 because of these guys who do everything they can to steer you to their mail order pharmacies.

    They’re absolutely killing us and killing access. Please, do not use mail order.

    • shikitohno@lemm.ee
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      15 hours ago

      When I have an option not to, I don’t. Unfortunately, the way health insurance works here, I often don’t have an option. With the insurance I had through my previous job, basically as soon as I requested a second refill, the pharmacy benefits would go “Hey, we won’t cover this anymore, unless you switch to 90-day refills via CVS Caremark.” At some points last year, that could easily have been $500-$1,000/month more for me to pay for my meds in order to keep getting them at the pharmacy two blocks away, and I just didn’t have it. Instead of going there and having pretty much all my prescriptions filled in an hour or less, I got to enjoy Caremark not letting me refill until the last minute, then encountering shipping delays with medications I really shouldn’t have been abruptly missing doses of.

      • Jackcooper@lemmy.world
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        14 hours ago

        Totally hear you and that’s what we got to legislate against. Thank you for telling another tale of their abuse.

  • irotsoma@lemmy.world
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    21 hours ago

    I work for one of the parent companies of one of them and damn the propaganda has been crazy trying to discredit everything about the reports and the cases against them and trying to get employees to write to politicians and propagandize for them. They must be actually worried about the hit to profits over this. I mean it’s not like any tiny little fine will be a concern.

  • AFaithfulNihilist@lemmy.world
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    1 day ago

    Kahn is the real deal. I hope Harris keeps her and gives her anything she asks for.

    Lina Kahn could be the trust buster we need to get America’s shit together and maybe reign in some of these big businesses that seem to be completely above the law.

  • Fedizen@lemmy.world
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    1 day ago

    Yes, Please. These fuckers are the devil. Sue them into oblivion. Rip the dollars out of their bloody hands.