Pharmacy benefit managers have earned the ire of Ohio after an audit revealed spread pricing was hemorrhaging tax money, Fierce Healthcare reports.
Auditor of State Dave Yost on Thursday released the findings from the audit which found PBMs charged Medicaid a 31 percent spread among generic prescriptions filled between April 1 last year and March 31 this year, according to the report.
PBMs also charged Medicaid a roughly nine percent spread across all drugs.
PBMs reportedly pocketed some $2.5 billion between those dates, per Fierce Healthcare, including about $663 billion from generics and some $1.25 billion from brand treatments. Roughly $225 million of the generated $2.5 billion was earned from spread pricing.
CVS Health responded to the findings, saying it saved the state about $145 million each year by negotiating prices.
” … We do not keep any amount of a drug manufacturer’s rebate for Medicaid prescriptions in Ohio,” the company said about it passing government-mandated rebates onto Medicaid managed care clients.
