“By inserting themselves in the state’s process of selecting a firm to manage prescription drug coverage for the Office of Group Benefits, special interest groups representing Louisiana’s independent pharmacists attempted to line their own pockets at the expense of the state’s taxpayers, employees and retirees.

“Following a fair and competitive procurement process, CVS Health stood ready to provide a prescription drug benefit plan for state employees that the state’s independent analysis estimated would save more than $100 million in the first year, while also including a fair and market-based rate for reimbursing independent pharmacists. Instead, those same pharmacists opted to put profits over patients – inserting themselves into a process where the state had already outlined providing them fair compensation.

“This situation has set a dangerous precedent, endangering the healthcare coverage of state employees, threatening the fiscal solvency of the state employee and retiree benefit plan, and emboldening special interest groups whose sole concern is lining their own pockets. This bullying behavior, at a time when the state is facing unparalleled economic uncertainty from a global pandemic and countless natural disasters, is nothing short of shameful. Moreover, it represents an alarming trend that all states should be concerned about.

“While we are disappointed in the outcome, we remain fully committed to working with public and private clients across Louisiana to deliver pharmacy coverage that puts patients first and brings down the costs for prescription drugs. Sadly, the independent pharmacists cannot say the same.”

Several years ago, the Treasurer of Arkansas and the Arkansas Pharmacist Association did a price survey on the cost of the state employee medication costs. The program was managed by Caremark – which is owned by CVS Health.  The survey involved 250-260 different medications and the prices that were being paid by Caremark to the various local pharmacies where state employees got their medications filled.

ON AVERAGE, a medication filled at a CVS community pharmacy got paid by Caremark abt 60.00 MORE than what was paid to other pharmacies in the state that were competitors of CVS health drug stores for filling the same medication, strength and quantity.

Does this suggest that CVS Health is well versed in how a corporation can “line their own pockets at the expense of the state’s taxpayers, employees and retirees”

There is THREE PBM’S that control abt 75% of the Rx market place, both in what medications are covered and what they pharmacies get paid for filling such medications.  If you include the TOP 5 PMB’S you are talking about controlling abt 90% of the market.

If anyone questions the “bad financial behavior ” of the PBM industry just do a web search using the phrase “prescription benefit managers law suits”.

Over the last 5 yrs, the top 5 PBM companies are now owned by companies that are in the insurance business.  Before this, PBM’s and insurance companies were suing each other over claimed over charging or under payments.