A proposed Senate bill that would prohibit companies that control health insurers or pharmacy benefit managers from owning pharmacies rattled investors on Wednesday, but some Wall Street analysts believe the legislation is unlikely to gain much traction, at least for now.
The bipartisan bill, which would require divestiture within three years, is aimed at what the lawmakers call an “inherent conflict of interest” that has forced Americans to pay more for medicines and hastened the demise of independent pharmacies. A companion bill, that refers to a history of government prohibitions on joint ownership within industries, is scheduled to be introduced in the House.
At issue is an ongoing concern that the largest pharmacy benefit managers — which are controlled by CVS Health, Cigna, and UnitedHealth Group — favor their own mail-order or retail pharmacies. Critics say that by doing so, these companies not only dominate the design of health plans for tens of millions of Americans, but also distort the distribution and pricing for prescription medicines.
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