Inside STAT: Five pharmacy ‘middlemen’ head to Capitol Hill’s hot seat — some have an easier defense than others

They’ve been called “middlemen” who indulge in “dishonest double dealing.” They also have been decried for working under “a veil of secrecy.” They are pharmacy benefit managers, who aim to help insurance companies negotiate lower drug prices, and this week, five of the industry's top executives will head to Capitol Hill for a pair of back-to-back hearings Tuesday and Wednesday. The executives will hail from CVS Health, Cigna, UnitedHealthcare subsidiary OptumRx, Prime Therapeutics, and Humana, but whether their appearances will manage to assuage some of the criticisms they have faced — or whether they succumb to tough questions — remains to be seen. STAT’s Nicholas Florko has more on what you can expect here.