Democrats Unveil Plan to Break Up Big Healthcare

The current healthcare system in the US is plagued by high costs and frustration for patients. Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren's Break Up Big Medicine Act aims to address this issue by splitting up large conglomerates that have enriched themselves through their control over the healthcare industry.

These conglomerates, such as UnitedHealth Group, generate significant revenue from transactions between subsidiaries, steering patients towards affiliated doctors and hospitals rather than lower-cost independent providers. They also use pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) to push patients toward affiliated pharmacies that frequently upcharge for medicines by 10 times the acquisition cost.

PBs are supposed to save employers money by overseeing drug-related details of health insurance plans, but many PBMs are affiliated with foreign-based entities called group purchasing organizations. Lawmakers have raised concerns about these arrangements allowing PBMs to retain rebate-related revenue and fees within opaque corporate structures.

Breaking up these conglomerates would be good policy and would bring costs down by 40%, according to businessman Mark Cuban. Democrats can win the midterms if they run on this healthcare affordability agenda, targeting insurer and PBM practices that drive up out-of-pocket costs for Americans.