Antitrust enforcement action where the FTC settled with Express Scripts, a major pharmacy benefit manager, for using anticompetitive rebating practices that artificially inflated insulin prices. The settlement requires ESI to change its business practices to increase transparency and lower patient out-of-pocket costs, potentially saving $7 billion over 10 years.
Express Scripts must stop preferring high-cost drug versions, base member out-of-pocket costs on net price, provide standard offerings to plan sponsors, increase transparency with drug-level reporting, transition pharmacy payments to a cost-based model, reshore its group purchasing organization, and promote these standard offerings.
In-house legal teams should review all Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) contracts, including agreements with health plans/insurers, pharmaceutical manufacturers, and network pharmacies. Specific clauses to scrutinize are those governing rebate structures and calculations, formulary placement and tiering logic, transparency reporting requirements, and provisions that restrict patient access to lower-cost alternatives (e.g., anti-tying or exclusionary clauses). Changes may be needed to remove anti-competitive terms, mandate full rebate pass-through to plans/patients, require clear disclosure of pricing and spread calculations, and ensure formulary decisions are based on clinical efficacy and net cost rather than rebate size. Contracts should also be amended to grant robust audit rights and prohibit 'gag clauses' that prevent pharmacies from informing patients about lower-cost cash pricing options.
Entity
Express Scripts, Inc.
Also known as: Express Scripts
Industry
HealthcareOfficial Press Release
https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2026/02/ftc-secures-landmark-settlement-express-scripts-lower-drug-costs-american-patients
d09437caremarkproporder esiresps
https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/ftc_gov/pdf/d09437caremarkproporder-esiresps.pdf
express scripts inc et al analysis of agreement containing c
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/02/12/2026-02844/express-scripts-inc-et-al-analysis-of-agreement-containing-consent-order-to-aid-public-comment
ftc sues prescription drug middlemen artificially inflating
https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2024/09/ftc-sues-prescription-drug-middlemen-artificially-inflating-insulin-drug-prices
Federal Trade Commission Enforcement Page
https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement
"Express Scripts, Inc., and its affiliated entities (collectively “ESI”)"
"The FTC’s enforcement action against ESI, as well as Caremark Rx and OptumRx, alleges that the PBMs created a system that artificially drove up the list prices of drugs by preferencing rebates."
The FTC sent warning letters to 12 companies offering 'nudify' tools that generate nonconsensual intimate images, for failing to comply with the TAKE IT DOWN Act (TIDA) by not providing a mechanism for victims to request removal of such content. The letters urge immediate compliance with TIDA, which requires platforms to remove nonconsensual intimate images within 48 hours of a valid request. Noncompliant companies may face future legal action and civil penalties of up to $53,088 per violation.
The FTC began enforcing the TAKE IT DOWN Act on May 19, 2026, a law requiring covered platforms to establish a process for victims to request removal of nonconsensual intimate images and delete such content within 48 hours of a valid request. The agency launched a consumer complaint portal, issued compliance guidance for businesses and consumers, and sent reminder letters to major platforms including Meta, TikTok, and X about their obligations under the law. No specific penalties or enforcement actions against individual companies were announced in this release.
$6.5M
A federal court held Cliq Inc. and its executives Andrew Phillips and John Blaugrund in civil contempt for multiple violations of a 2015 FTC order requiring the payment processor to prevent enabling consumer fraud. The court found the defendants facilitated fraud by processing transactions for high-risk merchants, avoiding fraud monitoring, failing to conduct required underwriting, and ignoring chargeback thresholds. The court imposed $6.5 million in civil contempt sanctions against the defendants.
$795.8M
The FTC and State of Nevada settled charges with lead defendants of the IM Mastery Academy MLM scheme, including Chris and Isis Terry and their affiliated companies, over false earnings claims used to promote financial training programs and a multi-level marketing venture. The stipulated order imposes a $795.8 million judgment, with defendants surrendering nearly $90 million in assets including luxury real estate, vehicles, jewelry, and a yacht, totaling over $100 million with prior judgments from other involved defendants. The order also bans defendants from selling trading-training services, prohibits false earnings claims, and restricts deceptive practices including negative-option misrepresentations and telemarketing violations.
The FTC and State of Illinois, via the Department of Justice, filed a complaint against B.E.S.T. GDR LLC (d/b/a Premium Home Service) and its owner Yosef Bernath for creating thousands of fake home repair business listings with fabricated five-star reviews to deceive consumers. The defendants allegedly routed consumer calls to unqualified representatives, arranged for unlicensed technicians, and violated the FTC Act, Reviews and Testimonials Rule, Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, and Illinois consumer protection laws. No monetary penalty has been imposed yet as the case is in initial filing stages.
Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson sent letters to over a dozen major technology companies reminding them of their obligation to comply with the Take It Down Act (TIDA) by May 19, 2026. TIDA requires covered platforms to establish a process for victims, including children, to request removal of nonconsensual intimate images, with takedown of content and all identical copies required within 48 hours of a valid request. The FTC also issued supplemental guidance to help companies prepare for compliance and warned that it will monitor and enforce violations of the law.