Missouri—Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway has launched an extensive lawsuit against pharmacy benefit managers and drug companies, saying they have been manipulating insulin prices across the state for years, making it more expensive for those who need the medication to survive.
The lawsuit, which was filed in St. Louis County Circuit Court, names 19 companies that the Attorney General’s Office says were key players in a plot to fix insulin prices.
The lawsuit says that PBMs and manufacturers conspired together to raise the list pricing of insulin while still being able to decide which treatments are covered by insurance. Because of this, uninsured people in Missouri have had to deal with the most of the price spikes.
The petition cites state data that says around 450,000 people in Missouri don’t have health insurance, and about 18% of them are diabetic. Prices for insulin that people without insurance have to pay have gone up a lot in the last 15 years, even though the identical drugs are marketed in other countries for far less.
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The Attorney General’s Office says that Missourians rely on PBMs to get lower pricing and make formularies that lead to improved health outcomes. The complaint says that instead, consumers were tricked by costs that were intentionally raised to help companies make more money instead than helping patients. Prices for some insulin drugs in Missouri were between $300 and $400, yet the identical medicines were offered for less than $5 in other countries.
Interim Deputy Attorney General Jeremiah Morgan said that the alleged pricing practices have harmed families across the state and that customers can no longer afford to tolerate.
“Access to life-sustaining insulin should not be restricted by radical pricing practices that disproportionately harm families,” said Interim Deputy Attorney General Jeremiah Morgan. “PBMs have found a way to game the system for their mutual benefit—the Insulin Pricing Scheme, and consumers have said ‘enough.’”
The petition says that the defendants broke Missouri’s Merchandising Practices Act and state common law by using unfair and deceptive business tactics, getting rich unfairly, and working together to do so. The companies included are several PBMs and their affiliates, as well as three significant manufacturers of insulin.
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The Attorney General’s Office is asking the court to declare the alleged insulin pricing scheme unlawful, permanently halt the practices through injunctive relief, and order restitution and other financial remedies for affected Missouri consumers. If successful, the case could result in significant financial penalties and signal increased scrutiny of drug pricing practices in the state.
To view the full petition, click here. To see the full list of companies click here.
