4 things to watch as drug executives head to Capitol Hill on Tuesday

In what promises to be a closely watched hearing on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, CEO's from some of the top pharmaceutical companies will give their take to lawmakers the rising price of drugs. The expected scapegoat? Insurers and, more specifically, pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), which have been widely maligned by the pharmaceutical industry and Trump administration as a reason for higher prices. So payers went on offense on Monday, delivering a preemptive rebuttal to the anticipated claims that PBMs—who will not be represented on the hearing panel—are likely to be a key focus of drugmaker criticism. In all, executives for seven major drug companies—AbbVie, AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Johnson & Johnson, Merck, Pfizer and Sanofi—will speak before the Senate Finance Committee.