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Newsroom Archive
Stay informed with past health headlines, statements and press releases, and additional articles of interest
Health Headlines

         With Patient-Centric Support | 10.18.2020

 

 

  • Prime and Walgreens Alliance May Impact Specialty Drug Costs | 9.1.16

        America’s Healthcare System  | Business Insider 10.20.16

 

 

        Blocked Its Humana Merger | Los Angeles Times 8.17.16

        Expected In January 2017 | Healthcare Dive 8.15.16

         Boost ACA Exchanges | Modern Healthcare 7.27.16

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Statements & Press Releases

  • U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia Issues Scheduling Order for Anthem-Cigna | 8.12.16

  • U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia Issues Scheduling Order for Aetna-Humana | 8.12.16

  • New York Department of Financial Services Announces Hearing on Anthem-Cigna | 8.5.16

  • Anthem Files Reply to DOJ's Response to Its Request for Expedited Status | 7.28.16

  • Anthem Issues Response to DOJ Complaint | 7.26.16

  • Department of Justice and State Attorneys General File Suit Against Aetna-Humana Merger | 7.21.16

  • Department of Justice and State Attorneys General File Suit Against Anthem-Cigna Merger | 7.21.16

  • Consumer Groups Urge Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi to Oppose Aetna-Humana Merger | 7.8.16

  • Major Consumer Groups Release Paper on How Remedies Are Unlikely to Fix Health Insurance Mergers | 7.7.16

  • Growing National Outcry Over Insurance Mega-Mergers: 43 Medical, Consumer, and Advocacy Organizations Express Grave Concerns to DOJ | 6.29.16

  • Georgia Office Of Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner Announces Hearing on Aetna-Humana Merger | 6.28.16

  • Illinois Department of Insurance Approves Aetna Inc.'s Application to Acquire Humana | 6.24.16

  • California Department of Insurance Urges U.S. Justice Department to Block Aetna-Humana Merger | 6.22.16

  • Blumenthal, Franken, Warren, Brown, Markey, Feinstein, Hirono Call on DOJ to Block Proposed Health Insurance Mergers | 6.22.16

  • California Department of Managed Health Care Approves Aetna Inc.'s Application to Acquire Humana | 6.20.16

  • California Department of Insurance Urges U.S. Justice Department to Block Anthem-Cigna Merger | 6.16.16

  • Indiana Department of Insurance Approves Anthem Inc.'s Application to Acquire Cigna | 5.26.16

  • Connecticut Campaign for Consumer Choice Blasts Insurance Department Approval of Aetna-Humana Merger | 5.26.16

  • Written Testimony of David A. Balto: Hearing Regarding the Proposed Merger of Cigna Corporation into Anthem, Inc. Before the Virginia State Corporation Commission | 5.25.16

 

  • Missouri Department of Insurance Rejects Aetna Inc.'s Application to Acquire Humana | 5.24.16

  • Connecticut Legislators Call on Commissioner Wade to Hold Multiple Public Hearings on Anthem-Cigna, Aetna-Humana Mergers | 5.13.16

  • Ohio Department of Insurance Approves Aetna Inc.'s Application to Acquire Humana | 5.10.16

  • Bipartisan Group of Legislators Call on Commissioner Cunningham to Ensure Transparency, Accountability in Anthem-Cigna, Aetna-Humana Mergers | 5.9.16

 

  • Insurance Giants' Proposed Merger Likely to Hurt Connecticut Health Care | 5.5.16

 

  • Written Testimony of David A. Balto: Hearing Regarding the Proposed Merger of Humana Inc. into Aetna Inc. | 4.27.16

 

  • Colorado Consumer Groups Request Division of Insurance Publicly Evaluate Anthem-Cigna Merger | 4.15.16

 

 

  • Florida Office of Insurance Regulations Approves Anthem Inc's. Application to Acquire Cigna | 4.1.16

 

  • New Hampshire Insurance Department Approves Aetna Inc.'s Application To Acquire Humana | 3.29.16

 

  • Testimony Regarding Anthem, Inc.'s Proposed Acquisition of Cigna Corporation, By Brent D. Fulton, Richard M. Scheffler, and Daniel R. Arnold at the California Department of Insurance | 3.29.16

 

  • CA Insurance Department Should Reject Anthem-Cigna Merger That Will Harm Consumers, Says Consumer Watchdog | 3.29.16

 

  • Written Testimony of David A. Balto: Hearing Regarding the Proposed Merger of Cigna Corporation into Anthem, Inc. Before the California Department of Insurance | 3.29.16

 

  • Big Health Insurance Merger Threatens To Raise Consumer Costs, Outsource Jobs | 3.23.16

 

  • SCC to Hear Anthem's Proposal to Acquire Cigna | 3.21.16

 

  • Letter to Connecticut Commissioner Katharine Wade Concerning Mergers from Bridgeport State Legislators | 3.11.16

 

  • Health Insurance Merger Frenzy: Analyzing the Mergers of Anthem-Cigna and Aetna-Humana | 3.10.16

 

  • Center for American Progress Argues Divestitures Will Not Maintain Competition in Medicare Advantage | 3.8.16

 

  • Florida Office Approves Aetna Inc.'s Application to Acquire Humana's Florida-Based Affiliates | 2.15.16

 

  • Center for American Progress Reports Proposed Insurer Mergers Are Likely to Harm Consumers and Taxpayers | 1.21.16

 

  • American Antitrust Institute Weighs in on Aetna-Humana and Anthem-Cigna Health Insurance Mergers, Say DOJ Should "Just Say No" | 1.11.16

 

  • Press Release: Coalition Urges Policymakers, Insurance Commissioners and Others to Keep Health Care Competition | 11.12.15

 

  • Statement of PA Insurance Commissioner on Highmark and IBC Consolidation | 1.22.09

March 9, 2018 A Solution in Search of a Problem:  Senator Warren’s Misguided Call for a Big Tech Break Up

 

August 3, 2018 FTC, FDA Team Up to Fight Drug Monopolies, High Prices | Bloomberg Law 

 

May 11, 2018 Trump Doesn't Know Who 'Middlemen' Are, But PBMs Okay With His Drug Price Proposal 

May 11, 2018 Wall Street's Whispering That Trump May Take a Hammer to One of Healthcare's Most Lucrative Businesses 

 

May 3, 2018 Federal Kickback Law Might Be Used to Bring Down Drug Prices, FDA Commissioner Suggests

 

May 3, 2018 White House Targets PBMs for Drug-Price Savings

May 3, 2018 Health Secretary Alex Azar: 'Bold Action is on the Way' For Drug Prices

May 1, 2018 A $14,000 Cholesterol Drug Gets a Price Cut as Regeneron, Sanofi Strike Deal With Express Scripts 

 

April 26, 2018 The Role of PBMs in the Drug Supply Chain - And Why It Matters to Advisers

April 25, 2018 Clock Ticking On A Bipartisan Scramble to Curb Drug Costs

April 20, 2018 Drug Industry Facing Onslaught From Frustrated States

April 4, 2018 State Probing Whether Pharmacy Benefit Managers Are Overcharging Taxpayers

December 15, 2017 Follow the Money to Understand How Drug Profits Flow

 

December 6, 2017 CVS-Aetna Merger is a Robber Baron's Dream Come True  

 

December 3, 2017 CVS Agrees to Buy Aetna in $69 Billion Deal That Could Shake Up Health-Care Industry

 

December 3, 2017 CVS to Buy Aetna for $69 Billion in a Deal That May Reshape the Health Industry 

 

November 27, 2017 The Sopranos of the Pharmaceutical Industry 

 

November 14, 2017 Federal Judge Rules Against National Pharmacy Group in Suit Against PBMs

November 8, 2017 PBM DIR Fees Costing Medicare and Beneficiaries: Investigative White Paper on Background, Cost Impact, and Legal Issues 

 

October 31, 2017 CVS-Aetna Deal Could Have Same Result As Telecome Mergers-Higher Prices - Los Angeles Times 

 

October 30, 2017 Timeline: Insulin Market Under Scrutiny - Kaiser Health News 

 

October 25, 2017 Study Finds Disconnect Between Employers and PBMs Over Transparency, Rebates, Value and Contracts - Business Insider 

 

October 23, 2017 When Paying for Drugs With Insurance Costs More Than Paying Cash: Bill Would Require Pharmacists to Let Their Customers Know - Massachusetts Live 

 

October 18, 2017 A Huge Health Insurer Just Decided to Build Its Own Middleman to Manage Prescriptions - Business Insider 

 

October 17, 2017 Could Your Health Insurance Be Costing You Money at the Pharmacy? - NBC News 

 

October 12, 2017 Amazon vs. Walgreens? It's Just Around the Corner - Chicago Tribune

 

September 29, 2017 It's Time to Eliminate the Secretive Pharmacy Benefit Manager Pricing Practices - The Hill 

 

September 22, 2017 Patients and Doctors, Not Insurers, Should Get Say on Drug Choices - Naples Daily News

 

September 18, 2017 Pharmacy Benefit Manager Accountability Is Key for Employers - HealthPayer Intelligence 

 

September 14, 2017 Drug Plans Are Fighting States to Keep Prices in the Dark - Bloomberg

 

September 11, 2017 It's Time to Reform Accessibility to Prescription Drugs - The Hill 

 

September 7, 2017 Bill to Shed More Light on Prescription Go-Betweens is Shelved for the Year - Los Angeles Times 

 

September 1, 2017 Here's Someone To Blame For Drug Prices - Sacramento Bee

 

August 30, 2017 Bill Would Regulate Middlemen Who Help Set California Drug Prices - KPCC

 

August 20, 2017 With New Allies and Approaches, California Lawmakers Try Again to Confront High Prescription Drug Prices - Los Angeles Times 

 

August 2017 Pharmacy Benefit Managers: Drug Industry's Hidden Middlemen - Healio Rheumatology 

 

August 11, 2017 Want to Bring Down Drug Prices? Go After the Middlemen - American Prospect

August 3, 2017 PBMs Are Worsening the Opioid Epidemic - Fierce Healthcare 

 

August 3, 2017 Pharma's Quieter Price War Continues - Bloomberg Businessweek 

 

August 2, 2017 Where Are Drug Prices So High? The Fight Over a Price-Gouging Bill - International Business Times

 

August 2, 2017 Little-Known Middlemen Save Money on Medicines--But Maybe Not For You - Kaiser Health News

 

July 14, 2017 In Health Care, PBMs Are Crucial - But Not Regulated - Capitol Weekly

 

July 11, 2017 Pharmacy Clawbacks Targeted in Latest State Law Aimed at PBMs - Bloomberg 

 

July 6, 2017 EpiPen Lawsuit Targets Drug Price Middlemen - Dayton Daily News

 

June 29, 2017 The Crazy Math Behind High Drug Prices - Bloomberg Businessweek

 

June 28, 2017 Unaccountable Benefit Managers: How PBMs Put Profits Over Patients - Morning Consult

 

June 19, 2017 A Wall Street Investor Call Revealed Part of the Secret of Why Drugs Are Expensive - Business Insider 

 

June 15, 2017 Nevada Passes Insulin Drug Pricing Transparency Bill - Business Insider 

June 13, 2017 States Are Starting to Stand Up to 'the New Big Tobacco' Because Washington Won't - Business Insider 

 

June 9, 2017 How Price-Cutting Middlemen Are Making Crucial Drugs Vastly More Expensive - Los Angeles Times 

 

June 7, 2017 Why Are Drug Prices Going Up? Democratic Power Players Help Pharmaceutical Players in Connecticut Battle - International Business Times 

 

June 5, 2017 Berman DeValerio Announces EpiPen Purchasers Accuse Pharmacy Benefit Managers of ERISA Violations in Class Action Lawsuit - Business Wire 

 

June 2, 2017 Vetoed Pharmaceutical Transparency Bill Given Second Life, Grafted Onto Related Republican Legislation - Nevada Independent 

 

May 31, 2017 A Drug Quintupled in Price. Now, Drug Industry Players Are Feuding Over the Windfall - ProPublica

 

May 30, 2017 The Right Prescription for Reforming PBMs in California - Huffington Post 

 

May 25, 2017 Senate Okays Price-Gouging Bill After Clash With Insurance Commissioner - Hartford Courant 

 

May 18, 2017 Senate Passes Bill Restricting Gifts from Pharma Companies to Doctors - KRCR

 

May 15, 2017 The Path to Weakening Antitrust Policy - Forbes

 

May 9, 2017 Drug Price Transparency Expansion head to Governor's Desk - WJCT 

 

May 8, 2017 Express Scripts to Offer Cheaper Drugs for Uninsured Customers - New York Times  

 

May 4, 2017 Inside the 'Scorpion Room' Where Drug Price Secrets Are Guarded - Bloomberg

 

April 24, 2017 Express Scripts Plunges After Losing Top Client in Legal Dispute - Bloomberg

 

March 28, 2017 The Hidden Monopolies That Raise Drug Prices - American Prospect

March 17, 2017 Big Pharmacies Are Dismantling the Industry That Keeps U.S. Drug Costs Even Sort-Of Under Control - Quartz

 

February 6, 2017 Big Pharma's Offer to Trump: Discounts When Drugs Don't Work - Bloomberg 

January 30, 2017 Drug Makers Accused of Fixing Prices on Insulin - New York Times

January 28, 2017 Consumers kept in dark over drug pricing - Dayton Daily News

January 26, 2017 Who's really controlling your drug prices? 5 thing to know - Dayton Daily News

January 25, 2017 Why are Prescriptions so Expensive - Dayton Daily News

January 19, 2017 The next drug pricing target: Pharmacy Benefit Managers - Axiom

January 2017 - New York State Governor Cuomo unveils plan to protect New Yorkers from increasing drug prices

January 12, 2017 Law Suits Allege Independent Specialty Pharmacies Frozen Out by PBMs - Specialty Pharmacy Times

January 9, 2017 Specialty Pharmacies say Benefit Managers are squeezing them out - New York Times

January 6, 2017 Blue Cross will no longer cover prescriptions at CVS - Decatur Daily

November 30, 2016 PBMs Face New Licensing Requirements - The National Law Review

November 29, 2016 UnitedHealth, OptumRx Targeted in Latest Class-action Suit Alleging Prescription Scam - Louisiana Record

November 22, 2016 Three Restrictions on Drug Coverage are a Threat to Patients - Herald Chronicle

November 21, 2016 A Sick Calculation About Prescription Drugs - Investor's Business Daily

November 18, 2016 Area Pharmacies Face Numerous Challenges - NBC 15

November 17, 2016 Side Effects: The Role of the PBM - NBC 9

November 17, 2016 Pharmaceutical Wholesale Group Says Accreditation Policy Will 'Irreparably Damage' the Nation's Prescription Drug Delivery System - Legal News Line

November 16, 2016 UnitedHealth Hit Again in Drug Price Litigation Wave - Bloomberg BNA

November, 2016 Message From Mylan: It's Time For Every Health Plan to Address Rebate Issues - Pharmacy Benefits Consultants and the National Prescription Coverage Coalition

November 1, 2016 Contractor Didn't Turn in $1.5 Million in Drug Rebates - Union Times

 

October 17, 2016 Trying to Save on Prescription Costs? Good Luck

October 17, 2016 Buy Walgreens Ahead of Earnings

August 14, 2016 A secretive board controls access to prescription drugs for millions of Americans - STL Today

August 12, 2015 Should insurers be allowed to drop vital medications without regard for patients? - The Hill

August 3, 2016 Commentary on 'gouge factor' by Pharmacy Benefit Consultants & The National Prescription Coverage Coalition

August 2, 2016 The ‘gouge factor’: Big companies want transparency in drug price negotiations - Pharmalot

July 23, 2016 Pharmacy-Benefit Managers Under Pressure - Barron's 

July 19, 2016 Uncovering the group driving up the cost of medication - 10TV

July 14, 2016 Pharmacists question audit process that denies payments - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 

June 4, 2014,  Assembly bill would allow patients to opt out of mail-order prescriptions - The Fresno Bee

March 22, 2014, Mail Order Threatens Family Pharmacy - Citizens News


March 19, 2014, Providing Real Pharmacy Competition Under Medicare - The Hill

March 3, 2014,  Do Drug Benefit Managers Reduce Health Costs? - USA Today

March 2, 2014, Independent pharmacies focus on local ties to battle competitors, benefit manager cost cutting - Times Free Press

February 27, 2014, Proposed Medicare prescription drug reform: It is all about competition - The Hill

February 25, 2014,  Pharmacists, Members of Congress Offer Support for Proposed Improvements to Medicare Part D - Digital Journal

December 3, 2013, FTC to Watch Pharmacy Benefit Companies, Drug Firms - Reuters,

December 2, 2013, Wrong Prescription for Drug Competition - The Hill

November 21, 2013, Lawmaker Exposes Pharmacy Benefits Abuses - The Hill

October 10, 2013, Painful Prescription - Forbes

September 11, 2013, Time to Stop Inappropriate PBM Business Practices - The Hill

June 24, 2013, Anthem Settles Suit Over Mandatory Mail Order for HIV/AIDs Drugs - AIS Health

June 11, 2013, United Healthcare Sued Over HIV/AIDs Mail Order Drug Service - KPBS

June 4, 2013, New York Attorney General Schneiderman wants to expand mail order opt out and promote use of local pharmacies. - Capitol Confidential

May 31, 2013, Calif. HIV patient, specialty pharmacy case against Anthem Blue Cross settled - Drug Store News

May 31, 2013, Navigating PBM Legislation - Drug Store News

May 28, 2013, Anthem Blue Cross settles consumer class action case allowing optouts from mandatory mail order program. Click here for a copy of the settlement agreement.

May 25, 2013 - TPBC Passes MAC Reform Bill - Texas Pharmacy Business Council

May 7, 2013 - Taxpayers Protection Alliance Report on Mail Order Waste Provides Further Evidence for Patient Pharmacy Choice, PBM Reforms - NCPA

May 7, 2013 - NCPA Endorses Bipartisan Bill to Address Egregious Pharmacy Audit, Reimbursement Tactics in Medicare - Wall Street Journal 

April 15, 2013 - The PBM Squeeze - Drug Topics 

April 9, 2013 - Pennsylvania pharmacists say PBMs hurt them and their customers; PBMs say they help save billions - Penn Live

April 4, 2013 - Avella Releases Guide to Selecting the Right Specialty Pharmacy - Specialty Pharmacy Times

February 21, 2013 - Oklahoma Bill Would Give Board of Pharmacy Oversight of PBMs - Drug Topics

February 19, 2013 - Anthem halts plan to require some drug purchases by mail - LA Times

February 19, 2013 - Blue Cross Suspends Mail Order Program for HIV/AIDS Patients - NBC7 San Diego

February 19, 2013 - California insurer suspends mandatory mail-order prescription plan - Reuters

February 19, 2013 - Anthem suspends controversial Calif. mail-order specialty pharmacy policy - Drug Store News

January 10, 2013 - Anthem's mail-order policy may have crossed a legal line - LA Times

Additional Articles of Interest

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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