CVS overcharging customers with insurance for prescription drugs, federal lawsuit says



Already facing a class action over the price of generic drugs in San Francisco federal court, retail pharmacy giant CVS has again become the target of a similar complaint in federal court in Chicago.

Robert Podgorny and Kevin P. Cauley are accusing the Rhode Island-based pharmacy chain of consumer fraud. They seek certification as a class, a jury trial, damages and injunctive relief.

The complaint, filed Sept. 17, pinpoints the issue to November 2008, when CVS created its Health Savings Pass program. CVS designed the HSP program, which discounts some 400 generic prescription drugs for uninsured customers who pay cash, to help it weather competition from larger retailers with in-house pharmacies, such as Wal-Mart and Target.

According to the complaint, those prices should have constituted CVS’ “usual and customary price, a figure used in the claim and copay calculation process for customers who have third-party prescription drug coverage. For customers with insurance, the amount of the copay is not to exceed the “usual and customary” price.

However, when submitting claims for insured customers who are buying generic prescription drugs, the complaint alleges, “CVS submits knowingly and intentionally falsely inflated ‘usual and customary prices’ to third-party health plans and overcharges customers paying for generic prescription drugs with insurance and a copay.”

The allegations are similar to those levied in the San Francisco complaint filed at the end of June, which Bloomberg reported is based on the belief customers who buy prescriptions through third-party plans pay higher prices than those paying cash.

CVS offers the HSP price as the cash price to nonmembers, and it’s the most common price paid by customers using cash. Yet CVS continues to submit to insurance companies the full retail price as “usual and customary.” This continues, the complaint alleges, because both the third-party insurers and the insured customers, “are not privy to what prices CVS charges its uninsured cash customers, including its HSP customers, and what percentage of CVS’ cash customers pay each price.”

Since 2008, CVS has taken in more than $46 billion in copays from insured customers.

Podgorny, of Illinois, and Cauley, of Pennsylvania, each had private insurance and purchased from CVS generic prescription drugs that — were they HSP members — would have cost them $11.99 for each 90-day supply, starting in 2011. Yet during 2014 and 2015, Podgorny paid $22.08 for a 90-day supply of one drug and $17.11 for the other. Cauley paid $43.75 in copays for one-month supplies of his prescription.

The complaint seeks national class and state subclass designations, all open to people who purchased generic prescription drugs from CVS through private insurance as far back as November 2008. The classes are believed to involve millions of CVS customers.

“The 400 or so generic prescription drugs included in the HSP program are among some of the most commonly prescribed generic drugs” for a wide range of conditions, the plaintiffs said in their complaint.

The formal allegations are violations of the Rhode Island Deceptive Trade Practices Act, the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act and Pennsylvania Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law, and three counts each of fraud, constructive fraud, negligent misrepresentation and unjust enrichment.

The plaintiffs’ attorneys include Clinton A. Krislov and Christopher M. Hack, of Krislov & Associates, of Chicago, and Elizabeth C. Pritzker, Jonathan K. Levine and Shiho Yamamoto, of Prtizker Levine, of Oakland.

http://cookcountyrecord.com/stories/510638854-cvs-overcharging-cust...

Views: 498

Comment

You need to be a member of 12160 Social Network to add comments!

Join 12160 Social Network

"Destroying the New World Order"

TOP CONTENT THIS WEEK

THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING THE SITE!

mobile page

12160.info/m

12160 Administrators

 

Latest Activity

Doc Vega posted a photo
5 hours ago
Doc Vega posted a blog post

The Fingerprint

The Fingerprint On a dance with the unpredictability of the signals you sendA solemn pact with my…See More
9 hours ago
Sandy posted a video
10 hours ago
tjdavis posted a video
yesterday
Burbia replied to Burbia's discussion Trump Receives Marching Orders
Wednesday
Less Prone favorited Burbia's video
Wednesday
Less Prone replied to Burbia's discussion Trump Receives Marching Orders
"Bullets can be effective in reinforcing ownership."
Wednesday
Burbia posted a discussion

Trump Receives Marching Orders

Netanyahu has made 3 visits to the White house since Trump's second term as President of the United…See More
Wednesday
Burbia commented on Burbia's video
Thumbnail

Ben Shapiro Just LOST HIS MIND — There's No Coming Back From This

"Omg. The Ben Shapiro voice that Luke is imitating here couldn't be any more comedic to…"
Tuesday
Burbia posted a video

Ben Shapiro Just LOST HIS MIND — There's No Coming Back From This

Get the magnesium your body needs - https://wearechange.shop/product/magnesium-glycinate/Ben Shapiro Just LOST HIS MIND — There's No Coming Back From ThisHig...
Tuesday
cheeki kea posted photos
Tuesday
Doc Vega posted blog posts
Monday
Burbia posted a video

A few reasons I don’t like jews. It’s not complicated.

These are the reasons I became antisemitic. It’s not complicated. Sure, I could go on for days, weeks, months outlining everything, but I don’t need to. This...
Monday
Doc Vega commented on Doc Vega's blog post Unusual Discoveries and Headlines
"Less Prone, Thanks Buddy! I'd like to volunteer as a historical reconstructionist! "
Sunday
Less Prone left a comment for t.me/TheIntelligenceLibrary
"Welcome to a revolutionary concept in public communication, the truth."
Sunday
pohonemas33 team is now a member of 12160 Social Network
Sunday
Less Prone favorited cheeki kea's discussion Tartaria
Sunday
tjdavis's 2 blog posts were featured
Sunday
Doc Vega's 7 blog posts were featured
Sunday
Less Prone commented on Doc Vega's blog post Unusual Discoveries and Headlines
"Some incredible pieces of history!"
Sunday

© 2025   Created by truth.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service

content and site copyright 12160.info 2007-2019 - all rights reserved. unless otherwise noted