PBM Revenues Offer Boost to Major Insurers in Third Quarter
Large insurer-affiliated PBMs saw strong results for the third quarter of 2020, in several cases driving revenues for parent companies that are grappling with various disruptive effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
In earnings conference calls over the last month, company executives from CVS Health Corp., Cigna Corp. and Anthem, Inc., generally touted performance from their PBMs. Both Cigna and CVS credited their PBM business segments with driving strong third-quarter earnings for their companies. UnitedHealth Group, however, reported a 2% year-over-year decline in PBM earnings, which the company attributed to a pandemic-related drop-off in prescription volume.