Settlements Between PBMs, States, Indicate Need For 'Stronger Medicine' To Address Problems, Lazarus Writes

Main Category: Pharma Industry / Biotech Industry
Also Included In: Litigation / Medical Malpractice;  Primary Care / General Practice
Article Date: 04 Jun 2008 - 12:00 PDT

email to a friend   printer friendly   opinions  

A $9.5 million settlement with 28 states announced last week by Express Scripts to resolve allegations that the company had "been pocketing money from pharmaceutical companies to steer patients into name-brand drugs" indicates the need for "some stronger medicine" to address problems in the industry, Los Angeles Times columnist David Lazarus writes. The settlement followed similar agreements announced by CVS Caremark earlier this year and Medco Health Solutions in 2004, Lazarus writes.

According to Lazarus, state attorneys general alleged that the PBMs, which denied any wrongdoing in the settlements, "enjoyed too-cozy relationships with drug makers that resulted in money changing hands to push favored medicines" and, in some cases, "encouraged patients and their doctors to use preferred medicines but didn't pass along rebates from drug makers in the form of lower co-pays." The settlements might "introduce some transparency to how" PBMs operate, but "accords won't necessarily change how the business works," Lazarus writes (Lazarus, Los Angeles Times, 6/1).

Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.

© 2008 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

• Additional
• References
• Citations