A government-granted monopoly has allowed a pharmacy benefit manager owned by Cigna to overbill the Defense Department for years, in what amounts to an enormous cash transfer from American taxpayers to Big Pharma’s shareholders.

One of the nation’s most powerful pharmacy intermediaries is quietly charging the military’s health insurance program $484 more on average per generic drug than independent and big chain pharmacies, according to exclusive data shared with The Lever. The scheme forces taxpayers to spend significantly more to inflate the company’s profits, while cutting off many military families from local, accessible pharmacy care.

Lawmakers are working to add language to the pending defense spending bill that could shed light on this overbilling by requiring the US Department of

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