Medco Health Solutions Settlement Could Reduce PBM Secrecy, New York Times Editorial States
The "veil of secrecy that shrouds" the operations of pharmacy benefit managers "lifted a bit" when Medco Health Solutions, the nation's largest PBM, settled charges Monday in a lawsuit filed by attorneys general in 20 states that the company switched patients' medicines and did not pass on the savings, a New York Times editorial states. According to the editorial, the settlement could "ease suspicions" that PBMs place their financial interests before patients or health plans when negotiating agreements. In addition, if the transparency required by the settlement "becomes common practice," it could "help rein in" PBMs, which are "largely unregulated" and about to "assume a major role" in administering the Medicare prescription drug benefit, the editorial concludes (New York Times, 4/28).
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