Why did it take so long for the FTC to go after the PBMs? They’ve been responsible for the lack of healthcare pricing transparency and shady incentives for years.
https://www.ajmc.com/view/dr-martin-makary-on-how-pbms-impac...
https://www.ajmc.com/view/dr-martin-makary-on-how-pbms-impac...
* July 2021: FTC relaxes its restrictions on using its compulsory investigation powers (subpoena-like) to conduct detailed investigations
* Mid 2021 to mid 2022: laundry list of enforcement actions against monopolization in dialysis clinics, gas stations, veterinarian services, and PE-rollups of critical medical services like anasthesia; multiple suits against repair restrictions (right-to-repair) imposed by e.g. Harley-Davidson.
* June 2022: Announced inquiry into PBMs
* September 2024: Files suit against PBMs
Seems like they've been pretty busy since day one.
Always useful to have cynics discard meaningful efforts toward improvement though! Nothing like lazy fatalism to get people motivated to fix big, complex problems.