FTC chair joins PBM case

 The U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s lawsuit against major pharmacy benefit managers, including UnitedHealth Group’s Optum, CVS Health’s Caremark and Cigna’s Express Scripts, over insulin pricing practices is set to move forward after being paused last week. 

FTC chair Andrew Ferguson said April 3 that he would no longer recuse himself from the case, clearing the way for the lawsuit to resume, according to an X post. 

This follows the FTC’s earlier decision to pause the case, as the two remaining commissioners, Mr. Ferguson and Melissa Holyoak, both recused themselves due to previous work on PBM matters. On March 18, President Trump fired the commission’s two Democratic members, Rebecca Slaughter and Alvaro Bedoya. Both have filed lawsuits contesting their terminations.

The PBM lawsuit, filed in September, alleges that PBMs are limiting access to lower-priced insulin and steering patients toward higher-cost options to secure millions in rebates.

https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/legal-regulatory-issues/ftc-chair-joins-pbm-case/