Chairman Comer Expands PBM Investigation, Seeks Information About Foreign Headquartered Group Purchasing Organizations
WASHINGTON—House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) is expanding the investigation of the role of Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) by seeking information about how they use foreign headquartered group purchasing organizations (GPOs) to evade transparency and oversight in the United States. In letters to the Chief Executive Officers of The Cigna Group and Optum Rx, Chairman Comer seeks documents and information about the PBMs’ group purchasing organizations that are headquartered overseas.
“The Committee is investigating whether Cigna Group’s Evernorth Health Services, the parent company of Express Scripts, uses its foreign headquartered group purchasing organization (GPO)—Ascent Health Services, Inc. (Ascent) which is headquartered in Switzerland—to evade transparency and oversight in the United States. The Committee requests documents and communications regarding the creation and role of Ascent,” wrote Chairman Comer in a letter to The Cigna Group.
In July 2024, the House Oversight Committee released a report entitled, “The Role of Pharmacy Benefit Managers in Prescription Drug Markets,” detailing how PBMs have used their position as middlemen to enact anticompetitive policies and protect their bottom line. The report also highlighted how GPOs create another layer of pricing opacity and complexity, which is especially true for GPOs headquartered overseas as these entities may be used to retain additional revenue and fees and to sidestep U.S. legislative and regulatory reforms. Emisar Pharma was created by United Health Group’s Optum Rx in 2021 and is headquartered in Ireland. Ascent was created by Cigna Group’s Express Scripts in 2019 and is headquartered in Switzerland.
“The Committee is investigating whether UnitedHealth Group’s Optum Rx, uses its foreign headquartered group purchasing organization (GPO)—Emisar Pharma Services, LLC (Emisar Pharma) headquartered in Ireland—to evade transparency and oversight in the United States. The Committee requests documents and communications regarding the creation and role of Emisar Pharma,” wrote Chairman Comer in a letter to Optum Rx.
Read the letters here:
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