New York Attorney General Sues CVS Health for Violating Antitrust Laws, Hurting Safety-Net Hospitals, Clinics
July 28 2022 - 12:16PM
Dow Jones News
By Denny Jacob
New York Attorney General Letitia James on Thursday said she
sued CVS Health Corp. for violating antitrust laws and hurting New
York safety-net hospitals and clinics.
The pharmacy chain required safety-net hospitals and clinics,
which provide care for underserved communities across the state, to
exclusively use a CVS-owned company, Wellpartner, to process and
obtain federal subsidies on prescriptions filled at its pharmacies,
Ms. James said, forcing them to incur millions in additional
costs.
CVS didn't allow safety-net hospitals and clinics to use the
company of their choice to obtain subsidies on prescriptions filled
at CVS pharmacies through the 340B federal program, which allows
them to purchase certain drugs at a discount from pharmaceutical
companies and use the savings for patient care, the attorney
general's office said.
The lawsuit alleges that CVS's business practice deprived
safety-net hospitals and clinics of federal funding that could have
been used to improve and expand patient care. It also alleges that
the Rhode Island-based company's actions undermined the goal of the
340B program and hurt the financial condition of safety-net
healthcare providers.
The attorney general's office said an investigation found CVS
pharmacies didn't contract with hospitals that don't use
Wellpartner, which the company acquired in 2017, as their
third-party administrator, a violation of the state's antitrust
laws.
"We are taking action to stop CVS's harmful practices and recoup
critical funds to improve healthcare for our communities," Ms.
James said.
A representative for CVS didn't immediately respond to a request
for comment from Dow Jones Newswires.
Write to Denny Jacob at denny.jacob@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 28, 2022 12:01 ET (16:01 GMT)
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