WOONSOCKET, R.I.— CVS Caremark and the Federal Trade Commission reached a global settlement of the FTC's antitrust case against the PBM. Caremark says the agreement advances its leadership in delivering greater affordability for prescription drugs. The FTC alleged that Caremark, as well as rival PBMs Express Scripts and Optum, artificially inflated the list price of insulin drugs by using anticompetitive and unfair rebating practices. The commission alleged these practices hampered patients’ access to lower list price drug products, ultimately shifting the cost of the inflated insulin list prices to vulnerable patients. The agreement eliminates the need for ongoing litigation and investigations and allows Caremark to remain focused on delivering more value for American consumers and employers, lowering prescription drug costs, increasing transparency, and helping cust…

The agreement "advances and reinforces the changes we have already put in place and ensures affordability for families and patients across the country. CVS Caremark remains committed to lowering costs and bringing greater transparency to prescription drug pricing.” FTC chairman Andrew Ferguson said the commission "won’t stand for anticompetitive behavior that drives up prices for American consumers." He said the settlement "brings billions in real savings to consumers feeling the pinch from excessive prescription drug prices. And it "bars Caremark from interfering with hub pharmacies, which can help identify the lowest out-of-pocket option for patients and improve patient access to prescriptions." The FTC said the settlement locks in place up to $8.5 billion in consumer savings over the next 10 years and unlocks up to $4.5 billion in additional savings for patients ov…