WASHINGTON – Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Mike Braun (R-Ind.) have submitted public comment to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), pressing the agency for a rigorous review of the impact that Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) business practices have on the price of insulin.
“…this perverse system exacerbates the problem by discouraging manufacturers from competing to lower list price and prevents competitors with lower priced alternatives from gaining a foothold…” the senators wrote. “This is why it is important that the FTC … review the ways in which PBMs serve as the gate keepers for prescription drugs for millions of Americans and how other business practices may harm patients, payers, and the Federal government.”
In their letter to FTC Chairwoman Lina Khan, the senators cite the findings of the Senate Finance Committee’s years-long bipartisan investigation into insulin prices and urge the FTC to review the effects of consolidation, vertical integration and lack of transparency in how PBMs have exacerbated insulin prices. The senators specifically highlight PBM contracting practices, and their deleterious effects on prices paid by consumers for this century-old medication. Grassley and Wyden led the Finance Committee while it conducted its insulin investigation between 2019 and 2021.
Full text of the senators’ letter to the FTC can be found HERE. Full text of the Senate Finance Committee investigative report, which they append to their letter, can be found HERE.
