Oversight Chair Knocks PBM Execs for July Testimony Under Oath
Calls on them to provide any necessary corrections to the record within three weeks
Isn’t lying under oath called perjury? According to this article, three top execs of the 3 largest PBMs LIED under oath to the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability
Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) called on executives from Express Scripts, CVS Caremark, and OptumRx to correct the record for statements.
What kind of political BS is this, the law says a fine or FIVE YEARS IN PRISON. Those corporations will pay just about any fine that would be imposed. Each of those companies are worth hundreds of millions each. Throw those 3 exec’s ass in JAIL FOR 5 YEARS and watch all those PBMs rapidly start changing their processes. Repeal the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ McCarran%E2%80%93Ferguson_Act McCarran–Ferguson Act gives the insurance industry an exemption to the Sherman Antitrust Act and then let the FTC have their way with the monopolistic practices of our insurance industry.
ALEXANDRIA, Va. (Aug. 28, 2024) – The National Community Pharmacists Association released the following statement from CEO B. Douglas Hoey, pharmacist, MBA, after House Committee on Oversight and Accountability
Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) called on executives from Express Scripts, CVS Caremark, and OptumRx to correct the record for statements they made under oath during their appearance before the committee in July:
“PBM-insurers’ days of reckoning are continuing. Congress and the FTC aren’t falling for their nonsense, and the heat on them has never been higher. PBM-insurers exert so much influence on which drugs patients have access to and how much they cost that calling out their mistruths and working to hold them accountable is critical, and we applaud Chairman Comer for doing so. We also need to emphasize that Congress must absolutely pass PBM reforms this year. The time for waiting is over because PBM-insurers showed they will fudge the truth wherever they can and they’ll only change their ways if they are forced.”
In a statement released after the July hearing, Hoey called out
the excuses and at times downright lies the PBM executives were attempting to feed members of the committee about the roles their organizations play in increasing prescription costs and decreasing patient access to health care.
Making sure to note that under the law,
those who are untruthful in committee testimony under oath run the risk of a fine or five years of imprisonment,
Comer’s letters to the PBM executives specifically highlight their statements that contradict the committee’s and the Federal Trade Commission’s findings about the PBMs’ self-benefitting practices that jeopardize patient care, undermine local pharmacies, and raise prescription drug prices; claims that they do not steer patients to PBM-owned pharmacies; and claims contradicting the committee’s and FTC’s findings regarding contract negotiations, contract opt-outs, and payments to pharmacies. The committee is asking the big three PBMs to provide their corrections to the record by Sept. 11, 2024.
Filed under: General Problems
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