Planet Money's indicator: NPR

Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Spencer Platt/Getty Images

A group of unknown but powerful players in the drug industry are under scrutiny. On Tuesday, at a Senate hearing in Washington, the head of pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk accused the health insurance industry and pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) of allegedly making products like the weight-loss drug Ozempic much more expensive in the U.S. than in other countries. A few days earlier, the Federal Trade Commission sued three of the country's largest PBMs for allegedly using unfair tactics to artificially inflate the price of insulin.

What exactly are PBMs and how do they work? In an episode that aired two years ago, we explained that the answer to that question has to do with collusion and double agents.

Related episodes:
Who can get weight loss medication and who can’t (Apple / Spotify)
New drugs. Cheaper drugs. Why not both? (Apple / Spotify)

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