Secret Discounts Kept Soaring Drug Bills Down, Says Middleman
- Express Scripts says drug costs rose just 1.5% last year
- Drug-benefits manager fights back against pharma critics
Photographer: Tomohiro Ohsumi/Bloomberg
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Middlemen that negotiate drug discounts are under fire from drugmakers who say that secret rebates aren’t always shared with patients.
But Express Scripts Holding Co., one of the biggest pharmacy-benefits managers, says the drug-price deals it cuts behind closed doors are saving consumers a lot of money.