FTC sues companies for allegedly inflating insulin prices

(CNN)– On Friday, Sept. 20, the Federal Trade Commission took action against the three largest pharmacy benefit managers.

The agency says the companies artificially inflated insulin list prices that resulted in patients paying more for the medications.

The companies are CVS Health’s Caremark RX, Cigna’s Express Scripts, and United Health Group’s Optum RX.

The FTC alleges the companies and their affiliated group purchasing organizations built a system that prioritizes high rebates from drug manufactures.

They allegedly excluded available insulin products with lower prices in favor of higher priced insulins that provided higher rebates.