WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. Earl L. “Buddy” Carter (R-GA), Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), Deborah K. Ross (D-NC), and Cliff Bentz (R-OR) sent a bipartisan letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland calling on the Department of Justice to investigate the role pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) may have played in the opioid crisis
In the letter, the Members write, “Recent reports, including confidential files and information from CVS Caremark, Express Scripts, and Optum Rx, suggests the three largest PBMs colluded and conspired to steer patients towards Oxycontin in exchange for $400 million… [and] at the expense of innocent American lives.”
The Members continue, “The lack of transparency surrounding PBM’s rebate agreements and formulary decisions has allowed them to operate with little to no oversight, posing a significant threat to America’s public health. That is why we strongly urge the Department of Justice to investigate the role PBMs may have played in the opioid crisis and hold them accountable.”
The letter cites a Barron’s investigative report, which found that PBMs contributed to increased opioid sales at the peak of the epidemic by increasing rebates if a health plan covered higher amounts of OxyContin. Internal documents show that CVS Caremark had an agreement with Purdue Pharma that gave CVS double the number of rebates for authorizing four or more opioid pills a day instead of just two.
Furthermore, confidential files uncovered by Barron’s show that in 2017 Express Scripts awarded Purdue Pharma with favorable placement on their formularies in exchange for a 40% rebate. This system contributed to a culture of excessive prescribing and dispensing of OxyContin.
Read the full letter here.
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