A recently decided case out of Connecticut provides a useful examination of how antitrust standing issues may be analyzed in cases involving commercially-insured patients directly suing.
In their latest condemnation of labor market restrictions, state and federal enforcers, in two recent friend-of-the-court filings, urged the 2nd Circuit to reverse the dismissal of a.
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Recent decisions in two different antitrust cases involving price increases and marketing practices for the EpiPen address a relationship solidly embedded in the current architecture of pharmaceutical drug markets: payments between manufacturers and pharmacy benefit managers (“PBMs”) hired by health plans to manage prescription drug programs. These new rulings suggest that while certain manufacturer rebates have come under increased scrutiny in recent years, the standard industry practice remains on firm footing.
In general, health plans hire PBMs to design, manage, and administer drug benefit programs, including to (i) negotiate with manufacturers to obtain rebates to offset the list prices of drugs and (ii) to design and manage formularies and formulary compliance programs. Rather than negotiate with manufacturers on their own, a number of health plans hire PBMs to negotiate collectively on their behalf. In ex