When UnitedHealth Group CEO Andrew Witty testifies before the House Energy & Commerce Committee this May about the cyberattack on its subsidiary, Change Healthcare, Congresswoman Debbie Lesko will have a prime opportunity to demand answers to pressing questions about how pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) business practices inflate drug prices, crush smaller pharmacy benefits competitors and leave patients dependent on PBM-owned pharmacies for access to medication.
At a time when Congress seems to disagree on nearly everything, the clear and present need for PBM reform has led to tremendous bi-partisan support and at least a dozen bills aimed at protecting patients, providers and taxpayers from overpaying for prescriptions at the pharmacy counter.
Congresswoman Lesko can leave a legacy that makes Arizonans — and all Americans — proud by asking Witty to account for his company’s PBM, OptumRx, requiring drug rebates from manufacturers in exchange for including (or excluding) certain drugs on plan formularies; designing plans that push patients to PBM-owned pharmacies; hobbling independent pharmacies with underwater reimbursements and clawbacks; and promising to lower drug costs for plan members while increasing their premiums -— meanwhile raking in record profits for UHG leaders and shareholders.
Through opacity and monopolistic trade practices, the largest PBMs have evaded meaningful oversight for decades.
Congresswoman Lesko can be the voice of Arizona patients, ask and get answers to the tough questions, and finally shed light on one of the largest and least transparent companies at the center of the shady PBM industry.
