Federal regulation of PBMs unlikely expert says: the Bush administration's interest in regulating pharmacy benefit managers has been very low so far.(Practice Trends)

Publication: Skin & Allergy News

Publication Date: 01-JUL-04

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COPYRIGHT 2004 International Medical News Group

WASHINGTON -- The largest unregulated sector of the health care world is bound to stay that way for some rime to come, a health care lawyer said at the annual National Managed Health Care Congress.

A number of lawsuits have been brought against pharmacy benefit management companies (PBMs) in the last year, said Robert McCann, a partner with Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer, and Feld, Washington.

The suits accuse PBMs of deceptive and/or fraudulent business practices, or, in cases of pharmacy litigation, of price fixing. Other suits accuse PBMs of using their market power to impede competition between retail and mail order pharmacies, Mr. McCann said.

The exact details of PBM financial operations are not...

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