Shares of companies that own pharmacy benefit managers fell on Wednesday after the introduction of a bipartisan bill that would force health insurance companies and drug intermediaries to sell their pharmacy businesses.
CVS Health's Caremark, Cigna's Express Scripts, and UnitedHealth Group's Optum control much of the pharmacy benefit management (PBM) industry in the U.S., and their parent companies also operate health insurance businesses.
Shares of all three companies fell between 4.8% and 5.5% after the Wall Street Journal first reported news of the bill.
The bill, sponsored by Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Republican Sen. Josh Hawley, would require companies that own health insurance companies and pharmacy benefit managers to sell their pharmacy operations within three years. It is forced.
Republican Rep. Diana Hershberger and Democratic Rep. Jake Auchincloss also support the bill, which will be introduced in Congress.
PBMs negotiate prescription drug prices between insurance companies, pharmacies, and drug companies, and reimburse pharmacies directly for prescription drugs within agreed upon terms.
They have previously come under intense scrutiny for influencing prescription drug prices.
“PBMs have manipulated markets to enrich themselves by driving up drug prices, defrauding employers, and forcing small pharmacies out of business. My new bipartisan bill would eliminate these intermediaries. It disentangles conflicts of interest by discouraging people from doing so,” said Senator Warren.
Shares of other insurance companies, including Elevance, Humana and Centene, fell between 1% and 3%.
“The recent introduction of potential legislation to limit vertical integration of PBM businesses and broader healthcare is unlikely to gain traction, but we completely dismiss it,” said Leerink Partners analyst Michael Cherney. It's difficult,” he said.
The insurance company's stock price has come under pressure after Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealth's health insurance division, was shot and killed outside a Manhattan hotel last week.
