It’s time for Drug Channels’ annual update of vertical integration among insurers, PBMs, specialty pharmacies, and healthcare services within U.S. drug channels. As you can see below, we have revised, renovated, and refurbished our infamous illustration of the major vertical business relationships among the largest companies.
Proponents of these vertical integration arrangements argue that they create opportunities to mine healthcare costs. However, these organizations remain highly controversial, due to the potential for anti-competitive behavior. We summarize some of the key issues below.
While some major companies have narrowed their focus or unwound previous integration efforts, ongoing consolidation and selective deconsolidation will continue to reshape the healthcare biome by trying to build something epic, block by block.
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