Word is circulating that Lina Khan—who served as the chair of the Federal Trade Commission under former President Joe Biden—will soon resign from the commission, but her tenure at the agency comes to a close with yet another swipe at PBMs. The FTC has sued CVS Health and Cigna, which Khan said have each “produced only a fraction of the documents required” by the agency’s Section 6(b) investigation into the PBM industry and have “refused to provide basic information about their compliance efforts.” This noncompliance appears to be part of a broader pattern of disregard for commission orders, she said, reiterating that “FTC orders are not suggestions.” Khan also suggested the commission consider whether further recourse is warranted specifically for CVS’ counsel.

The FTC previously sued the big three PBMs and their affiliated group purchasing organizations for favoring high-priced drugs over cheaper alternatives to generate bigger rebates.

Khan’s term as chair expired in September, and Andrew Ferguson was officially designated as chair this week by President Donald Trump. Ferguson joined the FTC in the spring. He was one of four commissioners who voted in favor of issuing the agency’s first interim staff report on PBM practices’ negative impacts on consumers and patients. The commission voted 5-0 to allow staff to issue the second report this month, and in a concurrent statement about it, Ferguson said, “The commission still has more work to do on this Section 6(b) study. I remain committed to bringing it to a conclusion, culminating in a final report.”

https://ncpa.org/newsroom/qam/2025/01/23/speaking-lawsuits

Bil and Shanon Schmidtknecht have been passionately speaking out against PBMs and fighting for reforms since their 22-year-old son, Cole, died last January after he couldn’t afford his Advair prescription at a Walgreens pharmacy in Wisconsin because of an insurer/PBM’s formulary decision. Accusing OptumRx of negligence and violating several different Wisconsin statutes, the Schmidtknechts this week filed a federal lawsuit seeking punitive damages. “The conduct of both OptumRx and Walgreens was deplorable,” says a statement from the family’s attorney. “The evidence in this case will show that both OptumRx and Walgreens put profits first, and are directly responsible for Cole’s death.” Learn more about the lawsuit via WBAY and watch our digital advertisement that helps to amplify their story.