UnitedHealth Group Accused of Overcharging Patients for Life-Saving Drugs

A recent report from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has unveiled concerning practices within the U.S. healthcare system, particularly targeting pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) such as UnitedHealth’s OptumRx, Cigna’s Express Scripts, and CVS Caremark Rx. The report highlights that these companies collectively overcharged patients by $7.3 billion from 2017 to 2022, with certain life-saving medications marked up by as much as 1,000%.

Findings indicate that drugs critical for treating conditions like leukemia and pulmonary hypertension had retail prices inflated significantly. For example, a generic drug that costs $10 wholesale could be sold at $110 due to massive markups. Approximately 22% of the specialty therapies examined were subject to such price increases, raising alarms about the transparency and fairness of drug pricing in the U.S.

The allegations come amidst heightened scrutiny of healthcare expenditures in the U.S., which bears some of the highest costs per capita among wealthy nations without equivalent improvements in health outcomes. Critics, including Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, have initiated Congressional hearings to investigate the role of PBMs in exacerbating these issues.

In response, OptumRx stated that they have assisted patients in saving $1.3 billion in costs, while CVS dismissed the FTC’s findings as selective and misleading, accusing them of pushing an anti-PBM narrative.

This report arrives shortly after the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, which has drawn public attention to the alleged failures of the healthcare system he managed. The ongoing criticisms underscore a broader conversation about the necessity for systemic reform to ensure fair access to affordable healthcare for all Americans.