The three biggest pharmacy benefit managers will come before the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability to explain their role in the increasing medication prices in the U.S., according to an announcement on Tuesday by committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.).

The hearing, set for July 23, will include Adam Kautzner, president of Evernorth Care Management and Express Scripts, David Joyner, executive vice president of CVS Health and president of CVS Caremark, and Patrick Conway, CEO of OptumRx. According to Comer’s announcement, the session will probe how these pharmacy middlemen reinforce anticompetitive practices in the industry, in turn increasing prescription drug prices and compromising patient care.

Comer added in the statement that lawmakers across the aisle have “sounded the alarm” on the role of pharmacy benefit managers (PBM)—and their “anticompetitive tactics”—in increasing drug prices.

“Spread pricing and rebates benefit PBMs and have helped the three largest PBMs monopolize the pharmaceutical market,” Comer continued. “It’s clear these self-benefitting practices only serve to help their bottom line rather than patients.”

Also on Tuesday, the Federal District Court of Hawaii tossed the state’s lawsuit alleging that the three biggest PBMs were artificially and unlawfully hiking drug prices. Hawaii’s state attorney general has 45 days to file an amended complaint.

The state of Hawaii sued the top three PBMs—CVS Caremark, Express Scripts and OptumRx—in October 2023, claiming that they employed unlawful business practices, which in turn “have driven skyrocketing prices for brand-name prescription medications.” Among the practices that the lawsuit named was charging pharma companies rebates in exchange for favorable formulary placements for their drugs.

PBMs also charged drugmakers several other fees, none of which helped lower drug prices for patients at the point of sale, the lawsuit alleged. “Pay-to-play practices directly harm consumers both by artificially inflating the price of medications and by restricting consumers’ access to medications that could save or greatly increase the quality of their lives,” deputy attorney general Ciara Kahahane said at the time.

These double developments on Tuesday come amid mounting scrutiny of PBMs. Earlier this month, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) published an interim report showing that the top three PBMs handled nearly 80% of all prescriptions dispensed by pharmacies across the country. The antitrust watchdog also found that these middlemen “can hike the cost of drugs” and overcharge patients for cancer therapies, according to FTC Chair Lina Khan.

A few days later, The Wall Street Journal reported that the FTC was gearing up to sue CVS Caremark, OptumRx and Express Scripts over alleged anticompetitive practices.

HONOLULU (KHON2) — The 47th Annual Prince Lot Hula Festival will take place on Saturday, July 20 at the Frank F. Fasi Civic Ground Park from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The annual event celebrates Prince Lot Kapuāiwa, who ruled the Kingdom of Hawai‘i as Kamehameha V from 1863 to 1872. He was a strong advocate of traditional Hawaiian practices.

“Our mission is to honor and perpetuate the rich cultural heritage of Hawai‘i,” Executive Director Michael Pili Pang, of the Moanalua Gardens Foundation said. The Moanalua Gardens Foundation is the presenter of this year’s festival. “The Prince Lot Hula Festival is a vibrant testament to Prince Lot Kapuāiwa’s legacy and his unwavering dedication to preserving our traditions. We are excited to welcome the community to this year’s festival and to continue sharing the beauty of hula with the world.”

Founded in 1978, Prince Lot Hula Festival attracts over 10,000 attendees annually. It is the largest non-competitive hula festival in Hawai‘i.

Participating hālau in this year’s Prince Lot Hula Festival:

Hālau I Ka Wēkiu, Nā Pualei O Likolehua, Hālau Nā Kamalei O Līlīlehua, Hālau Hula ‘O Kaleipuaimilia, Hālau Hula Kamamolikolehua, Pua Aliʻi ʻIlima, Ka Pā Nani ‘O Lilinoe, Hālau Kilipohe Nā Lei Lehua, Hālau Hula o Kukunaokalā, Hālau Hula Ka Noʻeau, Hālau Hula Maunalei, and Ka Hale I o Kahala Hālau Hula.

For more information, visit their website.

By J. Michael Showalter and Robert Middleton (July 16, 2024, 6:10 PM EDT) — Governments are increasingly discussing climate change, including resilience to climate impacts and how to promote the energy transition. Less common are governmental commitments to take concrete steps to address climate change issues, such as the one the state of Hawaii reached June 20 as part of a settlement in the Navahine F. v. Hawaii Department of Transportation constitutional climate case….

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