New York sues CVS for depriving safety net hospitals of millions of dollars

If you think that corporate health care, be it administered by UnitedHealth, Amazon or CVS, is better than government health care, consider what’s happening in our health care system today. More and more Wall Street firms are buying up bigger and bigger pieces of the health care industry and, each time they do, it puts health care in the US on less sure footing. New York’s Attorney General is suing CVS to prevent it from depriving safety net hospitals of millions of dollars, undermining their ability to care for their patients and survive, Paige Minemyer reports for FIERCE Healthcare.

According to Letitia James, NY’s Attorney General, some of New York’s hospitals serving low-income vulnerable populations lost millions of dollars in prescription drug discounts under their 340B programs because of CVS. As CVS has grown, it allegedly exercised its power over these hospitals to make them work with its subsidiary, Wellpartner in order to get 340B drug discounts. In the process, CVS made it harder for these hospitals to get the discounts. As a result, the hospitals had less money to care for their patients.

According to James, “CVS’s actions are a clear example of a large corporation using its clout and power to take advantage of institutions and vulnerable New Yorkers, but my office will not allow it. We are taking action to stop CVS’s harmful practices and recoup critical funds to improve health care for our communities. When powerful corporations undermine the health and wellbeing of vulnerable communities in New York, they can expect to hear from my office.”

CVS bought Wellpartner five years ago. It then told hospitals that in order to provide them with prescription drugs, they would have to use Wellpartner to oversee their 340B programs. James alleges that this requirement violates New York State antitrust laws.

CVS denies the charges. It claims it has saved New York more than $200 million on prescription drugs and made it easier to get prescription drugs through the 340B program. Of course, it does.

Here’s more from Just Care:

• Primary care through CVS? Financial incentives pose a serious concern
• Whistleblower says CVS won’t cover some low-cost generics
• FTC investigates CVS Caremark and other Pharmacy Benefit Managers
• CVS charged with healthcare fraud
• Real risk of medication errors at CVS and other chain pharmacies