UnitedHealth, employer of murdered executive Brian Thompson, overcharged some cancer patients for medications by more than 1,000 percent

• OptumRx, manager of the group’s pharmaceutical services, along with its two largest peers, Express Scripts and CVS Caremark Rx, pocketed an additional $7.3 billion in excess costs thanks to price gouging, according to the findings of a Federal Trade Commission report. CVS Caremark Rx blasted the results of screening certain drugs in an effort to promote what it called an “anti-PBM” narrative.

UnitedHealth Group charges patients a premium for essential, life-saving drugs that could easily exceed their cost by a factor of ten or more, according to findings from the Federal Trade Commission.

The report, which makes the same allegations against CVS and Cigna, is the latest indictment of America’s failing healthcare system and follows last month’s shocking murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

The United States is known for bearing the highest per capita costs of any wealthy country, yet it fails to achieve even remotely equivalent improvement in patient outcomes compared to European social market economies.

Critics argue that this is largely due to the highly opaque manner in which unnecessary markups are hidden to disguise inefficiencies that serve various vested interests. These include, but are not limited to, the big three pharmaceutical intermediaries known as pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs).

According to the FTC report, UnitedHealth’s OptumRx, along with Cigna’s Express Scripts and CVS Caremark Rx, were collectively able to pocket $7.3 billion in additional revenue over costs over the five-year period of the study until 2022.

“The big three PBMs marked up many specialty generic drugs dispensed through their affiliated pharmacies by thousands of percent, and many others by hundreds of percent,” he concludes.

A thousand percent increase in the price of a drug that costs $10 wholesale would result in a retail price of $110.

This mark-up rate applied to 22% of the specialty therapies examined, including Imatinib, a generic used to treat leukemia, or the non-oncology Tadalafil for pulmonary hypertension. Others, like lamivudine, needed by HIV-positive patients, cost almost four times their acquisition cost.

Independent Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders has led congressional hearings to try to shed light on the problems posed by these drug middlemen as well as the drug manufacturers themselves.

UnitedHealth Group is making headlines for all the wrong reasons

Accused killer Brian Thompson cited industry failures as his motive for assassinating the UnitedHealth executive on the streets of New York. Luigi Mangione ended up receiving an outpouring of support on social media from Americans furious at how the Minnesota-based company mistreated their loved ones.

The Thompson-run business, the insurance arm of United Healthcare Group, had denied twice as many claims as the industry average, according to figures from comparison site ValuePenguin.

This month, surgeon Elisabeth Potter told how she was operating on a breast cancer patient when an urgent call came in from United Healthcare demanding proof that the procedure was indeed justified.

“It’s out of control,” she said in a video uploaded to TikTok, “the insurance is out of control.”

The conclusions drawn on the big three PBMs come from a report conducted under the direction of outgoing FTC Chair Lina Khan. She has been a frequent target of criticism for her robust approach in investigating monopolies and in the battle against big tech, earning the ire of major Silicon Valley figures on both sides of the political divide .

Importantly, all five FTC commissioners approved the release of the report. That includes Andrew Ferguson, Khan’s designated replacement under Trump, as well as fellow Republican Melissa Holyoak.

A selection of data to promote an “anti-PBM” discourse

UnitedHealth’s OptumRx said Fortune it is still reviewing the details of the report, but the PBM said it helped eligible patients save $1.3 billion in costs, estimating the median out-of-pocket payment at $5.

“Optum reduces the cost of specialty medications, which account for half of all drug spending, and provides clinical expertise, programs and support for patients with complex and rare diseases,” he said.

CVS Caremark, by comparison, argued that the FTC was guilty of “cherry-picking” its analysis by focusing on generics, which represent a tiny fraction of customer spending compared to brand-name specialty drugs, in an effort to mislead. The company also said it saves customers money: Personal spending has fallen seven years in a row, for a total reduction of 29% since 2016.

“If we are going to conduct an investigation like this, the American people deserve to see the full story based on all the facts and not just those that support a predetermined narrative,” he replied in a statement. Fortune. “The FTC’s current ‘anti-PBM’ policies would only increase the cost of medicines in the United States for patients, employers, unions and American taxpayers.”

Brand-name drugs carry considerable risks, however, as they are unproven and highly risky endeavors that may require years of experimental trials before they can see a return on investment – ​​assuming they are. A day. In comparison, generic versions of off-patent drugs only cost the equipment needed to produce them and benefit from a market already integrated with regulatory approval.

Cigna, parent company of Express Scripts, did not respond to a request for comment.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com