WASHINGTON— The lawsuit filed by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) against pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) over insulin pricing practices is back on. The case had been temporarily halted following President Trump’s dismissal of two Democratic commissioners from the agency.
Earlier this week, the FTC had put the case on hold due to the recusal of chairman Andrew Ferguson and fellow Republican Melissa Holyoak. Both had decided to step back from the case due to their past involvement with PBM-related cases.
On Thursday, Ferguson stated that after consulting with FTC ethics officials, he decided to reverse his recusal. This move allows the case against Optum RX, part of UnitedHealth Group; CVS Caremark, owned by CVS Health and Express Scripts, a subsidiary of Cigna to proceed.
Before becoming FTC chairman, Ferguson held the position of Virginia’s solicitor general and had advised the state’s attorney general on a class action against PBMs. He is expected to request the FTC’s in-house court to restart the case.
