FTC to Investigate PBM Business Practices, Consolidation

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said on Tuesday that it will investigate the business practices and consolidation of PBMs, following months of pressure from health care stakeholders. The FTC’s investigation, which is just the latest escalation in a nationwide regulatory push to clamp down on PBMs’ most controversial methods, was praised by plan sponsors and pharmaceutical groups.

The FTC’s leadership, a panel of five commissioners, voted unanimously to launch the investigation under section 6(b) of the Federal Trade Commission Act of 1914. The commissioners are a mix of two Democrats and two Republicans, with the fifth seat filled by the party that holds the White House. The unanimous vote is a reversal for the two Republican panelists appointed by former President Donald Trump. The Republican commissioners voted against a similar inquiry in February, deadlocking with the two Democratic commissioners — the swing seat on the panel was unfilled at the time. That fifth commissioner, Democrat Alvaro Martin Bedoya, was confirmed by the Senate in May on a party-line vote.