WASHINGTON — Democratic and Republican lawmakers found common ground with one another at an oversight committee hearing Tuesday, blaming executives from three major pharmacy middlemen groups for the sky-high prescription drug prices in the U.S. The House Committee on Oversight and Accountability heard testimony from the leaders of three pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs, one month after the Federal Trade Commission released a scathing report that accused the groups of racking up massive profits by steering patients and employers toward higher-priced drugs.
Prescription drug prices in the U.S. are a major concern for many people .
A report from KFF, a nonprofit group that researches health policy issues, found about one-third of people say they are unable to take the medication they need because of the high cost. Rep. Kweisi Mfume, D-Md.
, said he has heard from constituents that they’ve had to skip, delay or go without their necessary drugs because of the price. PBMs, in theory, are supposed to save patients money. They work with insurance companies to negotiate discounted prices from drug companies in exchange for including the drugs in their coverage.
However, three PBMs — CVS Caremark, Cigna’s Express Scripts and UnitedHealth Group’s OptumRx — make up about 80% of the U.S. market , giving them enormous influence over what drugs patients can get covered and what they cost.
And all three companies are tied to major health insurance providers. “On one hand we ha.