As 2019 gets under way, public outrage over high prescription drug prices does not appear to have abated, especially in light of recent news reports indicating manufacturers are raising prices on hundreds of drugs this month, AIS Health reported.

Yet there are plenty of reasons why this concern over drug prices might not result in any significant legislative or regulatory action, experts tell AIS Health. And whatever does occur might benefit health plans and PBMs more than challenge them.

In November 2018, reports emerged that retail pharmacy giant and health insurer— Walgreen Co. and Humana Inc. — are in preliminary talks to take equity stakes in each other.

Walgreens and Humana are already collaborating on a pilot project in which the insurer opened senior- focused primary care clinics in two Walgreens stores in the Kansas City, Mo., region. Now the companies are in “wide-ranging” talks about either expanding that venture or taking stakes in each other, according to The Wall Street Journal.

As states take a hard look at how they can reduce prescription drug spending in their Medicaid programs, they've put an already heavily scrutinized type of organization in their crosshairs: PBMs, AIS Health reported.

Ohio, for example, is forcing PBMs to abandon their current "spread pricing" models — in which PBMs pocket the difference between the amount they reimburse a pharmacy for a drug and the (usually higher) amount they charge a plan sponsor. Instead, they’ll move to a "pass-through" model, where PBMs will be paid an administrative fee by the Medicaid program and have to pay pharmacists the same amount that they bill the state for drugs, The Columbus Dispatch reported.

Facing an unexpected judicial roadblock in the plan to combine their two business, CVS Health Corp. and Aetna Inc. successfully negotiated a deal to keep their PBM and health insurance operations separate for at least the next few months, AIS Health reported.

At the heart of the holdup is U.S. District Court Judge Richard Leon, who has the right to review the agreement that CVS and Aetna struck with the DOJ to resolve antitrust concerns with their deal.

Express Scripts Holding Co. and CVS Health Corp. have in recent months unveiled new programs that appear designed to transition away from the PBM status quo, AIS Health reported.

One factor driving both new programs could be a proposed rule that's still under review by the Office of Management and Budget, which might remove prescription drug rebates' safe-harbor protections from the federal antikickback statute. But one industry expert says it looks less likely that may actually transpire.

According to CVS Health Corp., its acquisition of Aetna Inc. closed on Nov. 28 after receiving the last required approval from a state regulator. But a federal judge appears to have other ideas.

In a hearing on Dec. 3, Judge Richard Leon of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia said he might halt CVS and Aetna’s integration efforts while he reviews the $69 billion deal, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Just days before CVS Health Corp. said it closed its $69 billion acquisition of Aetna Inc., reports emerged that another retail pharmacy giant and health insurer— Walgreen Co. and Humana Inc. — are in preliminary talks to take equity stakes in each other.

Walgreens and Humana are already collaborating on a pilot project in which the insurer opened senior- focused primary care clinics in two Walgreens stores in the Kansas City, Mo., region. Now the companies are in “wide-ranging” talks about either expanding that venture or taking stakes in each other, according to The Wall Street Journal.