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House Judiciary Committee Questions CVS Health’s Policies in New Antitrust Report

By  |  January 28, 2026

A new investigation by the House Judiciary Committee is raising questions about whether CVS Health used its market power to block independent pharmacies from accessing competing digital pharmacy hubs, potentially running afoul of antitrust laws.

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    The findings were laid out in a report released last week, timed with hours-long hearings in which senior health insurance executives testified before two House panels. The inquiry stems from a committee investigation launched in September 2024 into whether pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs, are undermining competition in the drug distribution market. According to Fierce Pharma, lawmakers have increasingly focused on the growing influence of PBMs as technology reshapes how prescriptions are filled and delivered.

    Documents reviewed by the committee suggest CVS Health had been preparing to sharply expand its investment in digital pharmacy services and viewed hub-based pharmacy platforms as a critical competitive battleground. According to Fierce Pharma, the report says CVS analyzed the emerging hub market and then changed its network rules in ways that would make it harder for independent pharmacies to work with rival hub providers.

    The committee concluded that CVS used several tactics to reinforce its position, including issuing cease-and-desist letters to smaller pharmacies and leveraging the size of its nationwide pharmacy network to squeeze out alternative platforms. These actions, the panel said, were designed to keep competitors from gaining a foothold in the hub pharmacy space.

    Related: Judge Tosses Drug Pricing Conspiracy Case Against CVS, UnitedHealth, Evernorth

    In a press release accompanying the report, the committee said that CVS reversed course only after the investigation began, allowing independent pharmacies to partner with at least one hub. The same release warned that the company’s conduct may have crossed legal lines under U.S. antitrust statutes. It also cited internal comments from CVS leadership suggesting that the company recognized how its behavior could limit competition for smaller players.

    Beyond the specific allegations against CVS, the committee used the report to argue that current antitrust laws may not be fully equipped to deal with fast-moving digital health technologies. Lawmakers suggested Congress may need to update the legal framework to better protect competition as pharmacy services become more tech-driven, according to Fierce Pharma.

    CVS Health strongly disputed the committee’s conclusions. A company spokesperson described the report as misguided and inaccurate, arguing that CVS Caremark has a responsibility to ensure its partners do not engage in fraud, waste, or abusive practices that could drive up costs for patients and insurers. The spokesperson also said CVS revised its hub-related policies last year to make it easier for pharmacies to use multiple platforms, rather than favoring a single provider.

    The company added that it supports innovative pharmacy models that improve the patient experience while keeping drug prices in check. Still, the House Judiciary Committee’s findings are likely to add to the growing scrutiny facing large PBMs, as lawmakers weigh whether new rules are needed to prevent dominant firms from shutting out smaller competitors in an evolving pharmaceutical marketplace.

    Source: Fierce Pharma