{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://ross.house.gov/2024/12/ross-carter-krishnamoorthi-bentz-lead-letter-calling-on-doj-to-investigate-pbms-role-in-opioid-crisis", "Ross, Carter, Krishnamoorthi, Bentz Lead Letter Calling on DOJ to Investigate PBMs\u2019 Role in Opioid Crisis", "2024-12-02", "2024", "2024-12", "Democrat", "House", "NC", "Deborah K. Ross", "R000305", "ross.house.gov", "ross", "https://ross.house.gov/press-releases", "scraper", "Today, Congresswoman Deborah Ross (D-NC) joined Representatives Earl L. \u201cBuddy\u201d Carter (R-GA), Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), and Cliff Bentz (R-OR) in sending a bipartisan letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland, calling on the Department of Justice to investigate the role pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) may have played in the opioid crisis.\n\n\u201cRecent reports, including confidential files and information from CVS Caremark, Express Scripts, and OptumRx, suggests the three largest PBMs colluded and conspired to steer patients towards Oxycontin in exchange for $400 million\u2026 [and] at the expense of innocent American lives.\u201d wrote the lawmakers.\n\nThey continued, \u201cThe lack of transparency surrounding PBM\u2019s rebate agreements and formulary decisions has allowed them to operate with little to no oversight, posing a significant threat to America\u2019s public health. That is why we strongly urge the Department of Justice to investigate the role PBMs may have played in the opioid crisis and hold them accountable.\u201d\n\nThe letter was prompted by the findings of recent investigations:\n\nCVS Caremark\u2019s agreement with Purdue Pharma: Internal documents revealed that CVS Caremark agreed to double rebates for health plans that authorized four or more OxyContin pills per day, incentivizing higher doses.\n\nExpress Script\u2019s 2017 practices: Confidential files showed that Express Scripts awarded Purdue Pharma favorable placement on formularies in exchange for a 40% rebate on OxyContin prescriptions.\n\nThe impact of these practices: These systems fostered a culture of excessive prescribing and dispensing of OxyContin, further fueling the devastating opioid epidemic.\n\nFull text of the letter is available here.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-07T22:13:55Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://ross.house.gov/2024/12/ross-carter-krishnamoorthi-bentz-lead-letter-calling-on-doj-to-investigate-pbms-role-in-opioid-crisis"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.805647112429142, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}