"Consolidated firms — the PBMs, the distributors, and the drug stores – team up with payors," Scott Gottlieb said in prepared remarks at a major conference of health insurers in Washington. (Photo: Shutterstock)
A "rigged payment scheme" between drug plans, insurers and pharmaceutical companies has blocked access to less-expensive versions of some of the most costly drugs in the U.S., the head of the Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday.
FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb aimed particular criticism at giant pharmacy benefit managers that contract with health plans to administer coverage of drugs, saying the industry's contracting tactics have stymied cheaper copies of expensive biotechnology drugs. Known as PBMs, the companies include Express Scripts Holding Co., CVS Health Corp. and UnitedHealth Group Inc.'s OptumRx unit.
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