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CVS Health Corp. and Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. were sued by California customers who accused the drugstore operators of charging co-payments for certain prescription drugs that exceed the cost of medicines.
CVS, the largest U.S. pharmacy chain by number of stores, overbilled consumers who used insurance to pay for some generic drugs and wrongfully hid the fact that the medicines' cash price was cheaper, Megan Schultz said in her lawsuit. Schultz said in one case she paid $166 for a generic drug that would have cost only $92 if she'd known to pay cash.
[...] In her suit, Shultz accused CVS of clawing back her co-pay because the chain was in cahoots with the pharmacy benefit managers who got the extra money. The practice was part of CVS's agreements with benefit managers, such as Express Scripts Holding Co. and CVS Caremark, according to the suit filed Monday in federal court in Rhode Island. CVS is based in that state.
"CVS, motivated by profit, deliberately entered into these contracts, dedicating itself to the secret scheme that kept customers in the dark about the true price'' of drugs they purchased, Schultz's lawyers said in the suit, which is seeking group status.
[...] The lawsuits follow at least 16 other cases around the U.S. targeting drugstore chains' alleged co-pay clawback practices. The clawback occurs when patients hand over co-payments set by a pharmacy benefit manager that exceed the actual cash cost of the drug. The benefit managers pocket the difference, according to the complaints.
Most patients never realize there's a cheaper cash price because of clauses in contracts between pharmacies and benefit managers that bar the drugstore from telling people there's a lower-cost way to pay, according to the complaints.
[...] The cases are Megan Schultz v. CVS Health Corporation, 17-cv-359, U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island (Providence); and David Grabstald v. Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc., 17-5789, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois (Chicago).
Source: Bloomberg
Also at The Boston Globe, The Chicago Tribune, The Los Angeles Times, and NBCNews
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Justin Case on Saturday August 12 2017, @08:46PM (9 children)
I don't hear ANY of the multiple parties in the "healthcare" (actually health insurance) debate proposing to fix what is really wrong:
* You cannot know the real price of a thing
* You cannot know what it is going to cost you until after you buy it
* The fake prices thrown around are totally absurd and meaningless
I frequently see the actual health care providers claiming prices of 10 to 100 times what they actually end up getting paid. This screws the cash customer making it impossible to tell the insurance middleman to go to hell.
Recently I went for a necessary treatment. The provider claimed it cost I don't remember something like $695.00. I paid my $80.00 copay and the insurance company paid less than a dollar! How is it even worth handling the paperwork?
A few times you will find someone who will lift the veil. There's a medication that is $30 a month (my standard copy) if I go through insurance, but TWELVE dollars for THREE months if I pay cash. Plus I don't have to stop by the pharmacy every month.
To add insult to injury, standard operating procedure for insurance companies seems to be reject any claim and make the beloved customer fight tooth and nail to get the coverage for which we already drastically overpaid.
Whatever the next system is, I say not ONE tax dollar to insurance companies. If we are going to have tax money spent to help people, at least give it to the healthcare providers who help the people NOT THE INSURANCE COMPANIES! NUKE THEM TILL THEY GLOW! Then piss on the ashes.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 12 2017, @10:03PM (3 children)
The entire healthcare system from meds to doctors fees needs to be overhauled, and the frigging insurance industry needs to go away. I've paid $750/month cash (no insurance) for a single Rx that probably cost $15 to make. Raping the patients for as much money as possible is nothing but greed.
(Score: 2) by kaszz on Saturday August 12 2017, @10:45PM (2 children)
Can't you order that from a Canadian pharmacy?
Btw are they good on quality?
(Score: 2) by Magic Oddball on Sunday August 13 2017, @07:14AM (1 child)
That used to be the case, but the US government pressured Canada to help it crack down aggressively on the industry, so a lot of medications simply stopped being available and the remaining ones started costing a lot more money.
(Score: 2) by kaszz on Sunday August 13 2017, @07:21AM
Will Japanese, European, Australian or New Zealand pharmacies work?
Or is it possible to setup a physical mailbox inside Canada and order to that. And then re-mail it?
(Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 12 2017, @10:38PM (2 children)
Hillarycare and its followon Obamacare are basically giant love notes to the insurance companies. Anyone who has actually read the bills would know that. These are not health care bills. They are mandated insurance bills.
I can today right now go buy fairly awesome insurance for about 30-50 bucks a month. However it is not ACHA. What do I get for my ACHA insurance? 7500 deductible catastrophic insurance for 9000 bucks a year. In all ways it is a worse plan.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Whoever on Saturday August 12 2017, @11:06PM (1 child)
How much were you paid for that post?
So, yes, you may be able to buy insurance for 30-50 bucks/month (although I doubt even this). But awesome? No. It will be far worse than the minimum Obamacare required insurance. Why do you think it is so cheap?
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Justin Case on Saturday August 12 2017, @11:25PM
When I was self employed I used to pay exactly that: $30 a month for catastrophic insurance with a million dollars per year of coverage.
But it didn't pay for minor things like band-aids, aspirin, or having my temperature taken. I paid the small expenses out of pocket with the money I saved on premiums.
(Score: 2) by kaszz on Sunday August 13 2017, @07:25AM (1 child)
Buy and then ask to cancel the buy. Then the receipt would tell?
Cumbersome, but you didn't make this mess.
(Score: 2) by Justin Case on Sunday August 13 2017, @01:57PM
No, you go to the doctor and two months later you get a statement that says yeah, that's going to cost you $279 because [microscopic incomprehensible fine print].
You can't return your doctor visit.