CVS Health, UnitedHealth Group and Cigna have filed a lawsuit against the FTC in response to the agency's case against the nation's largest pharmacy benefit managers over inflated insulin prices, CNBC reported Nov. 19.
The complaint, filed Nov. 19 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, argues that the FTC's process is unconstitutional, claiming that the agency's administrative court violates the due process rights of the PBM's under the Fifth Amendment.
The lawsuit marks the latest development in the ongoing legal battle between PBMs CVS's Caremark, Cigna's Express Scripts and UnitedHealth's Optum Rx with the FTC. In September, the FTC accused the PBMs of using a "perverse" rebate system that inflates insulin prices and harms patients.
The companies also contend that FTC commissioners and administrative judges are unconstitutionally insulated from presidential removal, calling the agency's actions "fundamentally unfair."
The complaint comes after CVS, UnitedHealth and Cigna requested that FTC Chair Lina Khan and two other commissioners recuse themselves from the case, citing alleged bias.