High insulin prices spur a federal lawsuit against three pharmacy benefit managers

The federal government is suing some big pharmacy benefit managers over a system of drug rebates that regulators say has made the price of insulin soar for diabetic patients.

Three companies that process about 80% of prescriptions in the United States — Caremark, Express Scripts and OptumRx — have engaged in anticompetitive practices that spur price increases, the Federal Trade Commission alleged in a lawsuit filed Friday.

Pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs, run prescription drug coverage for insurers, large employers and other clients. They set up formularies, or lists of covered drugs, and negotiate rebates off the drug prices.

The FTC said the rebating practices of the three companies have led to artificially inflated list prices for people. List prices are what a drugmaker initially sets for a product and what people who have no insurance or plans with high deductibles are sometimes stuck paying for prescriptions.