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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: 3, Insightful) by Justin Case on Saturday August 12 2017, @08:51PM (6 children)
Our "healthcare" (actually insurance) system is ZERO PERCENT FREE MARKET and TOTAL interference from the big ugly government. That's the problem!!!
How's that working out for you so far? In case you haven't noticed, "government" === "the stronger".
(Score: 3, Insightful) by jelizondo on Saturday August 12 2017, @11:44PM (5 children)
Who is the most powerful: Themistocles or his son? The figure head or the real power behind the throne?
You see the problem is not the government, it is us, who have let the government be controlled by big money. So you are wrong, the government is not the strongest, Wall Street is.
(Score: 3, Touché) by Justin Case on Sunday August 13 2017, @12:40AM (4 children)
Who let them? I didn't. Did you? Why???
Every time I vote they pay no attention to me whatsoever.
The strong will do strong things, like control stuff. They can, so they will. They don't care about your opinion.
Trusting the government to fix anything -- while simultaneously pointing out that the government is not under our control -- is, well... naive? irrational? Let's just say, the product of a brain I don't understand.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 13 2017, @01:52PM (1 child)
The greatest argument for anarchy that exists... Take responsibility for your life and your world in your own hands and refuse the usurpers!
(Score: 2) by Justin Case on Sunday August 13 2017, @02:14PM
I'm not generally an advocate for outright anarchy, but at least if one chooses to go that way, you don't need to convince 100 million other people to join you.
You just do it. To whatever extent you think you can sustain.
(Score: 2) by jelizondo on Sunday August 13 2017, @11:36PM (1 child)
Thank you for your reply. I’m sorry if it appears that I trust the government (this one or the past few), I was merely pointing out what the government function should be.
From your comment it seems that you have been voting independent, which I believe is the way to go. Both parties are too entangled with special-interests and Wall Street to let anyone be a candidate who is not properly vetted and controlled, so by the time you vote, it's always their guy .
So what do we do? What I’m doing, trying to convince one person at a time to go independent until there are so many of us that politicians can’t ignore us anymore.
(Score: 2) by Justin Case on Monday August 14 2017, @03:57PM
Thank you also. Yes I usually avoid voting for either of the major puppets. "The lesser of two evils is still evil."
If you actually get involved -- I mean really deeply involved -- with one of the smaller political movements, you will see 100 times how the big powers use every trick in the book, including dirty tricks, to shut you down. Democracy is just an illusion to keep the masses complacent by thinking they have a voice.
How to fix it? I don't know. I just know everyone calling for more central concentration of ever growing power is probably pulling us in the wrong direction.