Bill Would Break Up Vertically Integrated Health Care Companies

Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Josh Hawley (R-MO), have introduced legislation intended to address consolidation in the health care industry.

The Break Up Big Medicine Act (S. 3822) would:

• Prohibit a parent company from owning a medical provider or management services organization and a pharmacy benefit manager or an insurer; and
• Prohibit a parent company of a prescription drug or medical device wholesaler from owning a medical provider or management services organization.

According to the Federal Trade Commission, the top three PBMs—CVS Caremark, Express Scripts, and OptumRx—manage 79 percent of prescription drug claims. These PBMs are also part of corporate health care conglomerates that also own and operate some of the nation’s largest health insurance companies.

Read the press release here.
Read the fact sheet here.