West Virginia (CNN)- Americans have long complained about the high cost of prescription drugs.
A new report from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) uncovers what appears to be a major driver of those costs.
The report found that Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBM) made more than seven billion dollars by marking up the prices of dozens of generic drugs.
Pharmacy benefit managers are the companies that serve as middlemen between drug makers, insurers, and pharmacies.
Some of the medicines included drugs used to treat heart disease, cancer, and HIV, among other conditions.
This occurred between 2017 and 2022.
The report found that price markups happened when spending on drugs rose significantly during that period.
The country’s three largest PBMs: CVS Health’s Caremark, Cigna’s express scripts and United Health group’s Optum RX all disputed the report’s findings.
They called it misleading and said the FTC’s analysis did not address the major cost savings the groups make for their clients.
