CVS Health
Newest federal regulator wants the little guy to be the focus of antitrust enforcement
From groceries to prescriptions to paychecks, the modern American business landscape makes it increasingly difficult for poorer Americans to get what they need to survive, Alvaro Bedoya, the newest member of the Federal Trade Commission, said in an interview late last month. The consequences have taken the form of food and pharmacy "deserts" and in a paucity of jobs that pay a living wage. "I want to focus on the folks at the bottom of the ladder and are trying to move up and not fall off," he said.
With new acquisition, CVS to get bigger and broader, raising concerns
When CVS Health announced last week that it was buying Signify Health for $8 billion, executives with both companies said it will help them to more effectively deliver care. But some observers are concerned that it means CVS and rival UnitedHealth Group are extending their dominance into yet another aspect of American health care. Dallas-based […]
Former CVS exec accuses it of ripping off seniors, taxpayers
The top leadership of CVS Health directed an illegal scheme to work across the corporation’s sprawling subsidiaries to drive up drug prices in the Medicare program, says a whistleblower suit that was recently unsealed in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. It accuses CVS of breaching firewalls between its SilverScript prescription drug plan, CVS Caremark, its […]
Deep inside the gun bill: a break for drug middlemen
Many Americans across the political spectrum are clamoring for federal action on guns in the wake of a mass shooting at an Uvalde, Texas, elementary school, a Buffalo, N.Y., grocery store and hundreds of other mass shootings. But buried in a bipartisan compromise hashed out by the U.S. Senate on Tuesday is an unrelated provision they might not be so happy about. Apropos of nothing, the gun bill would enhance the exemption drug middlemen working with Medicare have from the federal "Anti-Kickback Statute."
Feds to probe drug rebates
The Federal Trade Commission last week announced what some observers believe could be a game-changer when it comes to the rising cost of prescription drugs. The agency — which is meant to protect fair competition — said it would look into the murky practice by which drugmakers grant rebates and other fees to insurer-owned pharmacy […]
Federal Trade Commission to investigate pharmacy middlemen
After years of pleading, the Federal Trade Commission on Tuesday voted to investigate the practices of some of the nation’s largest companies. They’re accused of using their dominance in myriad sectors of the health care space to drive up costs, drive out competition and reap profits. Four of the six companies to be investigated have […]
Medicaid director owned stock in companies she awarded huge contracts
Ohio Medicaid Director Maureen Corcoran won’t discuss them, but state ethics filings she submitted on Sunday showed that she continued to own stock in three huge health care companies last year — the same year she negotiated and signed billion-dollar contracts with their subsidiaries. Outside ethics experts have said it’s a clear conflict of interest […]
After years, pharmacy-middleman suit might finally come to trial
Since at least 2016, Ohio pharmacists have been accusing large companies acting as pharmacy middlemen of abusive practices, which they deny. And since 2019, the state has been accusing them as well, in the form of lawsuits. Now, after years of wrangling in court, some of that litigation might be headed to trial. The middlemen, […]
Government watchdog: Health care giants improperly denied Medicare benefits
The health care companies offering Medicare Advantage plans improperly denied services and payments at what might seem an alarming rate during a one-week test period in 2019, according to a government report released last week. The companies — many of which are also major players in the Ohio Medicaid system — improperly denied payment 18% […]
Mississippi House votes to cut ties with provider accused of fraud
The Mississippi House of Representatives last week voted overwhelmingly to cut ties with a Medicaid provider that last year agreed to pay the state $55 million to settle claims that it fraudulently inflated the cost of prescription drugs. Ohio is the only state to actually sue over such claims and last year St. Louis-based Centene […]
Experts: DeWine’s son, Medicaid director both have clear conflicts
(The original version of story misattributed a statement by Ohio Supreme Court Justice Pat DeWine to a spokeswoman for the court, who does not speak for him. This version is updated.) The administration of Gov. Mike DeWine is making history, but perhaps for the wrong reasons. Two DeWine appointees have figured in what federal law […]
DeWine: Additional transparency not needed in massive Medicaid contracts
Ohio Medicaid Director Maureen Corcoran apparently held stock in two huge health companies last year as she negotiated and signed multi-billion-dollar contracts with their subsidiaries. But she has refused to say how much she owned as she signed the deals. Nor will the man who appointed her, Gov. Mike DeWine, say he thinks Corcoran should […]