NCPA backs new PBM lawsuit
By HME News Staff
Updated 10:34 AM CST, Tue December 19, 2023
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – The National Community Pharmacists Association is throwing its support behind another class action lawsuit filed against UnitedHealth Group and its pharmacy benefit manager, OptumRx. The lawsuit, announced by the law firms Berger Montague PC and Cohen & Gresser LLP, claims that UnitedHealth Group and OptumRx have been assessing pharmacy DIR fees in violation of federal antitrust laws and state laws governing contracts. “After years of abuse at the hands of big insurance plans and their PBMs, independent pharmacies are fighting back,” said NCPA CEO B. Douglas Hoey. The plaintiff in the new case, Osterhaus Pharmacy of Maquoketa, Iowa, is also the lead plaintiff in a case against CVS Caremark. The NCPA says UnitedHealth Group and OptumRx control nearly one-third of all prescriptions in the country, and in some areas, they have a virtual stranglehold on the market. The association says independent pharmacies whose patients are covered by UnitedHealth must either agree to the shakedown as part of a “take-it-or-leave-it” contract, or they must allow their patients to be steered to a large mail-order pharmacy or some other big competitor that is often affiliated with other insurance companies. Independent pharmacists who want to learn more about their legal options should visit www.fightpbms.com.
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