Jakob Emerson – Becker’s Hospital Review
A federal lawmaker investigating pharmacy benefit managers is accusing top executives from CVS Health, Cigna Group and UnitedHealth Group of making false statements during a committee hearing in July.
On Aug. 28, Rep. James Comer, chair of the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, called on three PBM executives “to correct the record” regarding testimonies they made during a hearing about how the PBM industry influences prescription drug markets.
“At our hearing, the witnesses claimed they do not steer patients to PBM-owned pharmacies,” the committee wrote on X. “The executives also made claims contradicting the committee’s and FTC’s findings regarding contract negotiations, contract opt outs, and payments to pharmacies.”
Mr. Comer is asking David Joyner, president of CVS Caremark; Adam Kautzner, PharmD, president of Cigna’s Express Scripts; and Patrick Conway, MD, CEO of UnitedHealth’s OptumRx, to provide any necessary corrections to the record by Sept. 11.
In his letter to the three executives, Mr. Comer highlighted the potential consequences of making false statements to Congress, including fines and imprisonment of up to five years.
The letter comes amid heavy ongoing scrutiny of PBMs in Washington, D.C., with the FTC accusing the industry in July of favoritism toward its own pharmacies and creating vast market control, affecting both medication access and affordability.
The three largest PBMs — CVS Caremark, Express Scripts, and OptumRx— handle 79% of U.S. medical prescriptions for approximately 270 million people. Integrating further with health insurers allows even more control over medication prices and access, according to the FTC. The agency is also preparing lawsuits against UnitedHealth, Cigna and CVS over their PBM business practices, according to reporting from The Wall Street Journal.
In second quarter calls with investors, the CEOs of CVS and Cigna said their PBMs save customers money and promised to defend their businesses in Washington.
