PROVIDENCE, R.I. (Legal Newsline) – Blue Cross Blue Shield claims that CVS has been scamming it for years by charging it too much for prescriptions.
The health insurer and its state affiliates filed suit May 27 in Rhode Island federal court against CVS, claiming the pharmacy chain reacted to competitors adopting discount programs by reporting false charges.
“The scheme was, at its core, quite simple. CVS offered hundreds of generic drugs at low, discounted prices through cash discount programs: Originally, its Health Savings Pass Program and then a later successor to the HSP Program, the Value Prescription Savings Card Program,” the lawsuit says.
“CVS created and maintained the Cash Discount Programs for two reasons: first, to compete for cash customers who might otherwise be attracted to discounts offered by CVS’s competitors, and second—and more importantly—to obfuscate its true prices from third party payors, including Plaintiffs.
“CVS intentionally told third party payors, including Plaintiffs, that the prices charged to cash customers for these generic drugs were higher—often much higher. Third-party payors then reimbursed CVS based on those higher, inflated prices…”
The lawsuit alleges fraud and unjust enrichment, among other claims.