Congress Has A Big Chance To Investigate A Financial Threat To Patients

Forbes April 22, 2024
Sally Pipes

Following an enormous cyberattack on a subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group, the Senate Finance Committee has called the company’s CEO, Andrew Witty, to testify on April 30th. The hackers stole millions of medical records, which reflects badly on the company’s ability to protect patients.

But while members of Congress are grilling Witty about the cybersecurity breach, they should also question him on other ways his company harms patients. Legislators should start with demanding clarity on the industry middlemen known as pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs, one of the largest of which is owned by UnitedHealth Group.

PBMs negotiate drug prices with drug manufacturers on behalf of insurers. One might expect this leads to lower costs for patients, but because of misaligned...

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