Ohio is fighting to release a state-sponsored report on what it paid two pharmacy benefit managers, Optum and CVS Health, to manage its Medicaid beneficiaries' prescription drug plans, according to NPR.
Here are four things to know from the report:
1. The PBMs are contracted with the health insurers running Ohio's managed Medicaid program to negotiate prices with drugmakers. The Ohio Department of Medicaid commissioned an analysis of the PBMs' prescription drug program after the Columbus Dispatch published a report outlining how the state was potentially overspending on prescription drugs.
2. In July, Ohio released a report showing Optum and CVS charged 8.8 percent more than they paid pharmacies to fill prescriptions, pocketing the more than $224 million difference between what the state paid for the drugs and what the PBMs charged, according to NPR.
3. CVS and Optum have since sued to stop the report from being published. During a hearing Aug. 7, a judge told the PBMs they could redact any trade secrets from the state's report by September. CVS argues releasing the report will inhibit its ability to negotiate discounts with drugmakers. Optum declined NPR's request for comment.
4. In a statement about the agency's report, an Ohio Medicaid spokesperson told the publication: "Transparency is not only the duty of government to its owners — the people of Ohio — but it's also essential for the market to function properly. We believe this deeply and will continue to pursue it."