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FTC accuses big PBMs' pharmacies of collecting $5.9B in specialty drug markups

Margin expansion at Express Scripts, Caremark and Optum Rx increased by $336 million between 2017 and 2021, officials say.

By Allison Bell | January 14, 2025 at 05:53 PM
The Federal Trade Commission building in Washington. Credit: Diego M. Radzinschi/ALM

The Federal Trade Commission today set off a new round of debate about the role of big pharmacy benefit managers in shaping U.S. prescription drug prices by posting a second interim staff report.

This time, the FTC focused on charges for high-cost specialty drugs at the pharmacies of the three biggest PBMS — Cigna’s Express Scripts unit, the CVS Health Caremark unit and the UnitedHealth Optum Rx unit.

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