After the FTC filed a lawsuit in September, accusing the three major pharmacy benefit managers of anticompetitive rebating practices related to insulin, the defendants reversed roles and became plaintiffs. In November, they countersued the agency, arguing that its lawsuit is unconstitutional.
Months before the FTC sued the three largest pharmacy benefit managers, the CEO of Blue Shield of California battled its PBM - CVS Caremark - to bring a lower cost prostate cancer drug to its members.
Closing cancer health equity gaps require medical breakthroughs made possible by new funding approaches.
A more measured approach to noncompete clauses can be fair to physicians and provider organizations, and also serve patients better. Here are four elements for a policy on noncompetes that will work for healthcare.
The Federal Trade Commission has sued CVS Caremark, Express Scripts and Optum Rx, alleging that they engage in "anticompetitive and unfair rebating practices” as it relates to insulin. One legal expert believes the FTC might win this legal battle.
A federal judge recently blocked the FTC's ban on noncompetes. The decision has important implications for healthcare.
The Federal Trade Commission recently released an interim report that details how the practices of pharmacy benefit managers negatively impact patients and pharmacies. Some experts hope for legislative action based on the report.
The progress in artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping patient care, across various dimensions, from facilitating faster discharge to curating treatment plans and suggesting lifestyle changes.
Novant Health called off its planned $320 million acquisition of two CHS-owned hospitals in North Carolina. The decision came after an appellate court granted the FTC an emergency injunction to block the deal — the agency had been challenging the deal for more than a year.
Novo Holdings’ $16.5 billion planned acquisition of Catalent is facing another delay. Just weeks after Novo decided to resubmit its application to the FTC, the agency is seeking more information about the deal. This move has triggered a second 30-day delay in the antitrust review process.
This week, the FTC ordered Cerebral to pay a $7 million fine, accusing the company of mishandling users’ sensitive health data and misleading consumers about cancellation policies. Experts agree that other virtual healthcare providers need to work on their legal and compliance strategies in order to avoid a similar fate.
The Federal Trade Commission only gets notified when a merger/acquisition deal value is above $100-$110 million, so smaller deals nonetheless lead to a slow consolidation of the market. In conference remarks, FTC Chair Lina Khan outlined the ways in which the agency is trying to counter this phenomenon.
The future looks bright for the integrated specialty pharmacy model – for health systems, providers, and most importantly, for patients.
GoodRx failed to notify users that it sold their personal health information to Google, Facebook and other tech companies, the FTC claimed. The agency filed an order that prohibits GoodRx from sharing its users' data with third parties for advertising purposes and requires the company to pay a $1.5 million penalty. GoodRx agreed to pay the settlement but did not admit to wrongdoing.
This is the third complaint the FTC filed against proposed hospital mergers so far this year.
To get approval for the deal, Medtronic agreed to sell an Intersect subsidiary to soothe the FTC's concerns.
The agency reminded health apps and wearables companies that they must disclose any breach of users’ health information, even if they are not a HIPAA covered entity. Companies that fail to disclose a breach could face thousands of dollars per day in fines.
The FTC sued to block the merger between the two New Jersey-based health systems and won a preliminary injunction earlier this month. But the providers believe that the merger would not raise prices or stifle competition — like the FTC alleges it would — and have filed an appeal.