Chronically Ill Patients Want Voice in FTC Pharmacy Agent Probe

Chronically ill patients are pushing the Federal Trade Commission to incorporate their experiences getting treatment into the agency’s study on the entities that manage prescription drug benefits.

Pharmacy benefit managers say their role is to help ensure Americans get the most effective treatment at the lowest price. But patient advocates say that PBMs’ formulary designs and authorization requirements have delayed access to AbbVie‘s arthritis drug Humira, Gilead‘s HIV treatment Truvada, and other medications for patients who may only respond to a specific, specialized drug.

“PBMs are supposed to act as a counterweight on behalf of plan sponsors and ...