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America’s largest health care company, UnitedHealth, is facing serious allegations of overcharging cancer patients by 1000%.
A recent report by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) revealed that UnitedHealth’s pharmacy benefit manager, OptumRX, has been marking up critical life-saving drugs by as much as 1000%. By the price markup, this made the treatment unaffordable to majority of patients.
The FTC investigation points to a widespread issue in the U.S. healthcare system, where OptumRx raked in billions in added revenue by inflating drug prices. Other pharmacies such as CVS Caremark and Cigna’s Express were also noted for doing the similar thing. The report claims that specialty medications, like Imatinib for leukemia, were increasing from $10 to $110.
UnitedHealth OptumRx told media outlets that it is still reviewing the report but claims it helped patients save $1.3 billion and reduced out-of-pocket payments to as low as $5 for some individuals. The company released its fourth-quarter results on January 16, which beat analysts’ profit expectations based on quarterly revenue of $100.8 billion, up to 7 percent year-on-year.
The FTC is considering its position and may take legal action. Chairwoman of the FTC, Lina M. Khan, said in a statement that the FTC should act swiftly to stop illegal conduct. The report comes after growing calls for healthcare reform following the shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.